Violet Eyes
by Kaelyn
Summary: Avalon and Lei have been friends for a long time but will that friendship last when Avalon discovers that Lei isn't what he seems? *Ugh, totally cliche summary but the story's pretty unique. Please pass the reviews?*
1. Prologue- Fairgrounds

-Title: Violet Eyes  
-Author: Kaelyn kaelyn@quik.com  
-Rating:15 for the most part(PG13)  
-Spoilers: Uh, general NW, I guess, nothing specific  
-Disclaimers: The Night World and everything in it belong to L.J. Smith, not to me (although that would be cool if it was) All characters you don't recognize such as Lei and Avalon belong to me so if ya want to use them, ask!  
  
*~* Please, any comments or critisms would be absolutely cherished like a favorite toy. I love to hear anything, even if you just find a spelling or grammar error(And i know that happens quite a bit) or a simple "Liked it" and your name. I'm the least pickiest person when it comes to that although if ya feel like commenting further, I'd love to hear what you think!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
Prologue:  
  
Violet Eyes  
Sun swept kisses  
Bittersweet goodbyes  
All her memories   
Wrapped up inside  
That first glance of  
Violet Eyes  
  
  
A little girl stood lost in the crowd. Green, blue, red yellow;   
colors swirled by her as she stood in the middle of the fair grounds,   
cotton candy hanging forgotten by her side. A young couple swept past   
her, then stopped. The woman crouched down in front of her , smiling in   
the goofy way that adults have around children and asked in sugary false   
voice,   
  
"Are you lost sweetie pie?" The girl narrowed forest green eyes at   
the silly woman in front of her, bared her teeth and growled. The woman   
fell back landing unceremoniously on her bottom. She flushed red and   
quickly stood up, brushing herself off. " Little brat," she snapped.   
The little girl giggled sweetly at her and stuck out her tongue. In a   
huff, the woman turned back to her boyfriend and pulled him away as fast   
as she could. The couple melted back into the river of colors.   
  
The girl sighed, spinning in place, searching for her mother. She   
had been there a minute ago but when the little girl had stopped to look   
at the glass blowers, she had disappeared. Something caught her sight,   
off in a corner by the candied apples tent. Moving closer, she could   
make out a bundle of clothes. As she reached it the bundle moved, and a   
pale, dirt and tear stained face appeared.   
  
She crouched down next to it with the boneless grace that only   
children and dancers could achieve and stared unabashedly. The little   
boy, for that was what it was, glared back at her with eyes the color of   
crushed violets, tears threatening to spill over as others had obviously   
done before.   
  
"What're you starin' at?" he barked out, trying to appear tough. The   
little girl shrugged.  
  
"You're crying," she said in way of explanation. He ground the back   
of his hand roughly at his eyes, smearing more dirt across his face.  
  
"So?" he said defensively.  
  
"So, boys aren't supposed to cry."  
  
"Says who?" he demanded. The girl shrugged again.  
  
"I dunno. Want some?" she said, holding out what was left of her   
cotton candy. He stared at it warily for a moment, then ripped a piece   
off. He stuck it in his mouth as she continued. "What's wrong?"   
  
" I got lost. I was with my brother and he met some girl. He told me   
to wait here but I've been sitting for a long time and I'm scared," he   
explained, taking another piece of the candy. The little girl plopped   
down next to him.  
  
" Don't be scared, we can be lost together. That way we'll both be   
found," she reassured him. He looked at her with his violet eyes, then   
nodded slowly.  
  
"Well, alright." She smiled at him and reached out to wipe some of   
the dirt off. Crinkling his nose like a rabbit, he batted her hand away.  
  
"Okay, fine. My name's Avalon Serai," she said, "but everyone calls   
me Avvie." He smiled tentatively at her.  
  
"I'm Lei Redfern."  



	2. Chapter 1- Forever Friends

*Hey people! Reviews are, like, the coke(a cola of course) of my life. So please, anything you might have to say would be vastly appreciated. (Hey, you could be famous and have yourself thanked on the next chapter! ::grins sweetly at her readers:: c'mon, ya know you want to. I think that's enough begging for the day though. Ta ta!  
  
Violet Eyes  
Chapter 1:  
  
" Lei! Wait up already!" Lei sighed impatiently and turned around.  
  
" I'll wait if you hurry up! We're late as it is," he yelled back,   
watching as a pretty girl with black hair that fell in ringlets to her   
waist and bright green eyes sped up to try and catch up with him.   
  
When she finally got within normal speaking distance of him she said,   
"Late shmate, haven't you ever learned to savor the moment Redfern?" He   
couldn't help but smile but he quickly hid it by turning and starting   
off again.  
  
" No," he answered as she fell in line with him. " Besides, that doesn't   
exactly apply when the school bell rang almost twenty minutes ago." The   
girl seemed to think about that for a minute, then grinned impishly at   
him.  
  
"Of course it still applies, I just have to savor a little faster is   
all." Lei turned deep violet eyes on her in grim amusement and ran a   
hand through his dyed blue-and-black spiky hair.  
  
"You never cease to amaze me Avvie. We've been friends for almost ten   
years now and I still don't get you." She smiled and pinched his cheek.   
  
"Aww, you know that's what you love about me," she cooed. Lei sighed   
convulsively, switching his history book from one hand to the other.   
  
"Unfortunately you're right. And that frankly terrifies me." She   
laughed, the sound bubbling up out of her throat like a mountain spring   
and he had to laugh with her. He gave in and slowed down, knowing that   
they would never make it to class on time. * Who needs Bio-chemistry   
anyways,* he rationalized to himself. Lei decided take Avalon's advice   
to just enjoy the happy moment; Lord knew there hadn't been many of them   
in his life lately. "Oh all right. You win. I'm savoring, happy now?" he   
asked in mock annoyance. Grinning in triumph, she grabbed his hand and   
dragged him along the path to their school, surprising him.  
  
"Lei! How can you savor a time like this? We'll be late to school!"   
  
*~*~*  
  
Susan had a very pretty neck. It was long and pale, normally showcased   
by the bob haircut that she always wore. Unfortunately, today she was   
wearing a turtleneck. Lei groaned inside his mind as he studiously   
ignored the trigonometry teacher. I hate winter. Altogether too many   
scarves and sweaters for me, he thought. Lei grinned. He doubted that   
was the reason Susan was wearing a turtleneck today however. So, did   
Brier get a little hungry last night Suze? he sent to her, grinning   
wickedly. She stiffened and he could just imagine the glare she was   
giving the homework she was bent over right now.  
  
"None of your damn business Lei," she whispered back, knowing he would   
hear.   
  
He leaned over his desk and whispered quietly in her ear, " You know, I   
always thought witches didn't like giving blood." She whipped her head   
around and gave him her patented Death Glare.   
  
" Not to slugs like you. You see, there is a difference. First there are   
sweet, loving vampires like Brier, and then," her voice dripped sarcasm   
and disdain like honey from a bear's paw, " there are arrogant, rude,   
chauvinistic vampires like you. And your brother." Lei pretended to   
pout, throwing his hands up in a very innocent gesture.   
  
"Wow Suze, you actually managed to use three different adjectives in a   
row. I think that's a new high for you. Besides, I can't help it if I'm   
a Redfern and am naturally better," he said, loving to bait her on.   
There wasn't much else to do. There weren't very many Night Worlders in   
Sarence, California. Brier, Susan, a leopard 'shifter by the name of   
Taysin, Lei and his brother along with a few others were really the only   
ones there. Sarence was small and most people lived outside the actual   
town, like Lei and Avalon did. It was private; no elders to ask   
questions like ' what was you're brother doing on the night that the   
daughter of that rich lamia family was raped'. And no damned   
Daybreakers either. Lei was pulled out of his reverie by Susan.   
Literally.   
  
" Stop drooling on me you jerk! I swear, I don't know how anyone could   
possibly put up with you," she exclaimed, grabbing his shirtfront and   
shoving him back in his seat. The teacher paused for a moment but, as   
this was a regular occurrence, he continued after only a moment's   
discomfort. " Oh wait," she continued, " I forgot; they don't." Lei   
grimaced and straightened his shirt. It was only too true. He was too   
strange, too moody for most of the humans here. They all thought that he   
was crazy; some even thought he was a devil worshiper or witch. They had   
no idea how close to the truth they were. Of course, it didn't really   
help that he encouraged these ideas whenever he was bored.  
  
Lei closed his eyes and sat back, then sent a thought to her   
telepathically. 'You know Susan, I'm rather hungry. Perhaps I could have   
a little nibble.'  
  
Knowing he could read her thoughts she answered back, I don't think so   
buddy. Go gnaw on that human friend of yours, Avalon. I'm sure she'd be   
willing. Lei's violet eyes, normally warm and slightly wry, hardened to   
amethysts at this. He lost any smile he might have had and for just a   
second, he looked as if he would snap her neck at any moment.   
  
Don't ever suggest that again, he sent ferociously, and he could see the   
witch in front of him wince at the raw power he had put behind the   
thought. Susan turned back around again and stared at him with amber   
eyes turned wide with fear. Realizing that he had really scared her, he   
sighed, allowing the dangerous lights that danced demonically in his   
eyes to fade. Avalon isn't for that purpose, and never will be, he sent   
more gently. Nodding rapidly, Susan turned back around, gathering   
shields around her mind in the process. The bell for lunch rang and she   
got up to go, turning back to him before she went.  
  
She hesitated for a moment, then quietly asked him, "She's a human Lei,   
what other purpose do you want her for?" She fled the classroom before   
he had a chance to answer.  



	3. Chapter 2- Songs of the Heart

AN: Well, thanks to all of you lovely people who reviewed! I'm totally over-the-moon-and eating-the-Milky-Way- estatic! Thank you so much to: lolo, Keller, Myst, and Camilla(::grins:: you're certainly a good fan to have aren't you! Thanks babe!) Well, on to the story and peace, luv, and lotsa chocolate to all who read.  
  
  
Chapter 2:  
  
"Guess who!" Lei felt two cool hands wrap around his eyes, making him temporarily blind. Smiling, he decided to play along.  
  
"Uhh, Britney Spears and you're here to tell me that you're not that innocent and you want to get it on," he guessed. The hands fell away from his eyes and the girl behind him slapped him playfully on the shoulder.   
  
"Okay first of all, in your dreams. And second, I would think that you could come up with something a hair more original than that." Avalon appeared at his side and he shrugged, rolling his eyes.   
  
"So sorry I failed you, I beg your forgiveness," he replied sarcastically. She shrugged and flipped an errant strand of black hair out of her green eyes.   
" 'S'okay, just try harder next time," she said snootily, then turned serious as she continued. "Come on." She took his hand and pulled him back the way they had come. Raising an eyebrow, he dug his feet into the ground, forcing her to stop.   
  
" Where exactly is it that we're going," he asked plaintively, " The cafeteria is that way." He pointed back in the direction they had been heading for to begin with. She sighed impatiently and gave him a look that said 'duh'.   
  
" Forget the cafeteria, I came up with a new song and I want to put some music to it," she said.   
  
" And I want food," he argued, shaking his head and crossing his arms stubbornly in front of him. " We can do music later." She looked up at him pleadingly, opening her eyes wide and sticking her lip out in a childish pout.  
  
"Pu-lease?" she whined piteously. Lei sighed, knowing he would give in to her. He always did. Avalon was his one weak point. Besides, if he didn't she would start growling at him and it didn't matter that she was human, it still scared the hell out of him. She had done it to everyone that pissed her off for as long as he could remember and it had given her the same reputation for being crazy as he had. Talk about two peas in a pod.   
  
" Oh all right. But we're stopping by the vending machines on the way to the music room." She smiled, puppy face immediately melting into a smile that could break hearts. Often did break hearts. She hugged him, pulling him forward towards their new destination at the same time.  
  
"Thanks, you're a doll!"   
  
*~*~*  
  
Soft sweet music flowed into the headphones he was wearing, twining around him in Celtic knots and wrapping him up in the sound. Slowly the music faded out of existence and he removed the headphones. Lei turned towards Avalon, where she was standing next to him. She stood with eyes closed and lips slightly parted, the corners turning up in the barest of smiles. She looked absolutely blissful. Her head was tilted slightly back and Lei felt his eyes drawn irresistibly down to her neck, pale as dandelion milk with a fine tracery of light blue veins running through it. He felt the familiar tingle that meant his canine teeth were sharpening, lengthening. She was so tempting and he hadn't fed...  
  
He tore his eyes away from her, feeling his heart pounding in fear and excitement. * God, this is getting bad,* he thought to himself. Lei had promised himself years ago that he would never feed off his best friend; she was too good for that. But sometimes it was so hard to remember, especially lately. He would picture her in his arms, neck arched towards him and he would kiss it softly, feeling her pulse beating vibrantly against his lips and then he would...But it was just a strange dream, and a fleeting one at that. But then , a voice inside him meekly asked, why was his heart still running in circles at the thought?  
  
"Uh, Lei? Earth to Lei, are you okay?" An elegant fingered hand waved in front of his eyes and he snapped out of it, feeling relief as his teeth blunted and shrank again. He turned back to her, staring into worried green eyes that were almost on a level with his chin. He smiled reassuringly at her and nodded his head.  
  
" Sorry, must have dazed off there. So do you want to change anything in the music?" he asked, looking for something normal to break the spell. She shook her head enthusiastically.   
  
"No, not at all. It's exactly like how I had imagined it" Lei looked down at the controls in front of him. The room they were in was actually a recording studio. The school had been a radio station center before they changed it and this was one thing the school board had decided to keep untouched. Any student could come in and record school projects, music, whatever they wanted as long as they signed in and out. Lei and Avalon often came here to record songs. Avalon was determined to be a professional singer and she certainly had the talent. Lei had a natal talent for actual music, though he couldn't sing for his life, and could often put together an entire song in one lunchtime.   
  
"Really," he said, replying to her remark, " would you care to share what you imagined? You still haven't sung the lyrics, only hummed it and I'm dying to hear what they are." Avalon flushed slightly, looking down. * Avvie embarrassed? Now that's something you don't see every day,* he thought to himself.  
  
" All right, I'll sing them for you but you can't be a jerk. The song is about us," she said, glancing up at him ferociously, daring him to make fun of her. He kept his mouth shut, wondering what she could have written about them, and hit the play button to start the music. The sound started again, softly at first, just a piano and soft guitar, then building up faster as drums started in, giving the song a dramatic feeling. Closing her eyes, Avalon started to sing.  
  
A little girl lost at the fair  
Couldn't find her mama anywhere  
Glancing 'round she saw a little boy   
Lookin' every bit as lost as she  
  
She walked over to him, took his hand and said:  
"Little boy don't be scared, we'll be lost together.  
That way we both are found"  
He looked at her with his violet eyes then they  
Sat together on the ground  
  
Violet Eyes  
Sun swept smiles  
  
She faltered for just an instant before continuing, as if she had switched a word last minute.  
Bittersweet goodbyes  
And all her memories  
Wrapped up inside  
That first glance of   
Violet eyes  
  
Eight years later   
On her first date.  
His first name was Ryan  
His middle name? Heartbreak.  
  
Violet eyes found her in the park sobbing quiet  
He held her silently  
When she asked why  
He said "What're best friends for,  
If not to hold you while you cry?"   
  
He remembered that day. They had been fourteen and she found out that Ryan Todwead had cheated on her with some eighth grade slut. They had spent the night out on the park bench because she didn't want to see anyone.   
  
Violet Eyes  
Sun swept smiles  
Bittersweet goodbyes.  
And all her memories   
Wrapped up inside  
That first glance of  
Violet Eyes  
  
Yeah, wrapped up safe and sound,  
In violet eyes.  
  
Her voice was sweet, powerful but with a softness like a kitten stepping silently into new fallen snow that sent shivers up a listener's spine. It was haunting, and for a moment he was reminded of the myth of the Sirens. Beautiful monsters that would lure sailors to their death with an exquisite melody. Combined with the sad-sweet harmony of the music and lyrics, he felt very much like a sailor on his way to death. But oh, what a heavenly way to go.   
  
Lei stood in stunned silence as she finished. She looked at him anxiously, awaiting his feedback. Unable to say anything in the aftermath of the song, he simply swept her into his arms, allowing himself to forget for the moment that they were only friends, and that was all they could ever be. Getting her answer, she hugged him back.  
  
  
*~*~*  
Well, peeps, let me know what you think! The next part will be up soon as I can get it! Loves and cute kitties!   
-Kaelyn  
  
"I imagine that soundless celestial music falls upon you in showers, coming down from heaven. The stars themselves probably beg to fall upon you, to rain on you in glittering torrents, dripping and sparking over your skin, nesting in your messy dark hair."  
-'Bitter' by r i d d l e  
  
*~*Go see my webpage at: http://hometown.aol.com/ramseskittyn/enter.html *~*  
  



	4. Chapter 3- To Dream a Dream of Night

AN: Well, I had a bit of time today so I thought I'd toss this up there for people to read! My special, unadulterated thanks to these beautiful, wondrous people: Myst( As much as I'd like to answer your question, it would completely ruin the story if I did. Sorry:: looks very apologetic:: ) Keller( Yup, ::gasps:: there IS a plot! It's just not that far yet. This chapter introduces a bit though ::grins:: ) and lastly but sweetly, Diomede (nope, not gonna make you wait for long, obviously, Thanks for reviewing!)  
  
Any comments would be adored like the thing that they are: Bliss! Comments are the ambrosia of writers and I'm certainly not excluded from that! But on to the story.  
  
  
Chapter 3: To Dream a Dream of Night  
  
Tap. Tap. Tap.  
  
Lei was dreaming. He knew he was. Colored mists seemed to swirl around him and he was laying down somewhere. It was comforting and he could hear his mother's voice quietly telling him stories like she would when he was little, before his brother took him away. Everything was perfect except for...  
  
Tap. Tap. Tap.  
  
That. An annoying tapping sound, like rain on windowpanes, broke through the harmonious sound of his mother's voice. A first he tried to ignore it, he wanted to curl up in his dream and live there forever. However, the tapping wasn't about to grant that wish.  
  
Tap .Tap. TAP!  
  
Lei awoke with a start, staring straight up at the pale blob that was his ceiling.   
  
TAP.TAP.TAP!   
  
The noise came again and this time he identified it. Fingernails on glass. Lei growled and got out of bed, stomping over to his window. He slammed it open and glared down at Avalon.  
  
"You ruined my dream!" he growled at her, stepping back so she could climb in.   
  
"Sorry," she left him no explanation for why she was there at...he looked at the clock...four o'clock in the morning. Then again, she did this often; and he knew her excuse. Avalon often had bad dreams, horrible ones of death and killing and no one seemed to be able to calm them out of her. Except for him. Which was probably why she was here. She never told him what they were about; she never seemed to need to. Rubbing the sleep and anger out of his eyes, he sat down next to her. He could see she had been crying; tear streaks ran vertically down her sculpted cheekbones.   
  
"Had another one?" he asked softly and she nodded. He held her for a few minutes then said, "Do you want some tea or something? It'll calm you down." She nodded again and stood up. He carefully pushed her back down. "No, it's okay. You stay here and I'll get it." He wasn't sure where his brother was or what he was doing at the moment, but the last thing he wanted Avalon seeing was his brother feeding off some girl.  
  
"Okay, she answered quietly, and laid down on his bed. He closed the door silently behind him and turned to head for the kitchen. Making his way past the living room, he spied his brother and a pretty blonde girl kissing on the couch. Well, probably doing significantly more than kissing but he didn't stay to see. He walked past the room quickly, then spoke to his brother telepathically.  
  
*Avalon's here. She's in my room right now but don't make too much noise*. He felt his brother nodding and he answered.  
  
*Right, we'll be quiet. Would you like a sip little brother? She's sweet*. Lei shook his head at his brother, knowing the older boy would pick up on his refusal. It wasn't that Lei didn't feed off of humans, he wasn't a Daybreaker, but some how sharing with another seemed wrong. Like sharing someone's toothbrush, or having a threesome. He felt his brother's mental shrug, he clearly didn't understand his younger sibling's strange scruples, and cut off the link between them. Laughing quietly, he put a teapot of water on to boil.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Avalon huddled in her best friends bed, feeling comforted just by the feel of his sheets on her skin. She could faintly smell his own personal scent, one she equated with love and understanding. Smelling it brought images of sunshine on sweet grass, and the scent of a newborn baby in its father's arms. But it was also a feeling of silk upon steel, which held a strange fire inside that burned the unwary. Something that reminded her of more violent, passionate things; hard kisses under harsh moonlight and the wild excitement of a chase.   
  
A shiver of fear sent a thrill through her bones. But the harder she concentrated on these fierce images his scent sparked, the farther away they seemed to float until all she could see was the sunshine and green grass, babies in father's arms. She sighed and turned on her back. God, she really must have lost a few marbles somewhere along the road. Imagine, getting all from a smell! No wonder everyone at school thought she was a freak. She was one. And then there were her dreams, which sealed her insanity.   
  
She sighed convulsively, sitting up and wrapping her arms around her knees. She tried to block out the images that were now parading in front of her mind's eye. Red was the most prominent thing. The girl who her mind said was her, though she was blonde and much taller, was wearing an old-fashioned crimson dress. It hung off her shoulders, revealing pale skin. The voluminous skirts swept the floor. A floor covered in blood. And so was the girl, once her mind brought Avalon closer. The dress, she realized now, was not crimson, but white, and that it was blood that was staining it red. But not hers. Someone else's, someone she cared for deeply...  
  
Avalon felt herself being pulled even closer now, and although she was wide awake, her eyes staring at a painting on Lei's wall, all she could see was red, red, red.  
  
Suddenly she felt herself pulled inside the girl in her vision, melding into her, her fright and the girl's fright becoming one as Avalon felt her spirit wrenched into the girl's body...  
  
  
  
Her name was Morgana and she was the belle of the ball. Women admired her new white dress. The one Daddy had brought back from his trip from France. The men were admiring...well, certainly not the dress but that was perfectly fine with her. She giggled softly at a young man who had said something particularly witty, rewarding him with a smile that light up the room like stray rays of sunshine bouncing off of a crystal wine glass.   
  
He smiled back at her and asked to dance. Of course she said yes, he was very handsome and his violet eyes sparkled kindly down at her. As they waltzed around the ballroom, other couples seemed to stare at them, and whispers were surely saying what a striking couple they made.   
  
"I must say, that is an astonishing dress," he said quietly to her. She smiled coyly at him. She may have been only sixteen but she was fairly sure that he was not thinking of the dress as he said that. Or perhaps he was but only to wonder what it would look like crumpled on the ground.   
  
"My name is Morgana," she said back. He nodded solemnly, sweeping her over the floor.   
  
"And I am Adam Trable, pleased to meet you." Oh, she knew that name, he was among the wealthiest people in Massachusetts. Well, his father was anyway; and they were the ones throwing this ball. She smiled at him for real this time, and candles seemed to dim in comparison. "Would you care to go somewhere to talk?" he asked her. Mutely, she nodded, and let him draw her off the dance floor. He brought her into a room that was obviously a library or study of some sort. He opened a pair of double doors, revealing a large portico that overlooked a beautiful garden. She followed him out, knowing that she really shouldn't be alone with him without a chaperone but...oh well. She had never been one for rules.  
  
To her surprise, they did exactly as he had said they would. Talk. They conversed about many things and as the night grew older she began to realize that she quite liked this young man. No man except her father ever spoke to her as if she had an opinion that really counted. They just assumed that she was another silly woman, prone to emotional breakdowns and hysteria. She wasn't, she had a very sharp mind and her father always said that she picked up on things others tended to miss or disregard as unimportant.   
  
This boy though, this Adam, he asked her opinion on everything from politics, (Are you for or against slavery? Very against, Blacks are people as well) to the best way to get out of trouble (I hardly ever get into any because my father is very liberal. Really? I tend to never be out of it). And he actually listened, laughing at her jokes and listening solemnly to her tale of how her mother died. (They thought she was a witch. And was she? Of course not!) By the end of the first few hours she absolutely adored him.   
  
She heard a sound behind her, and he turned.   
  
"Excuse me, but guests are not supposed to stray from the ballroom," Adam said quietly to the person behind them. She turned as well, and saw a man standing by the doors. He said nothing, paid no attention to Adam, only stared at her as if she were about to be served on a platter. Light from the room behind them shone on his shiny black hair, making it look slick as oil on water. She felt a wave of repulsion as he took a step closer to her, never taking his black, soulless eyes off of her.  
  
Adam was stepping forward now, trying to block the man's path to her. He was saying something to the strange man but she couldn't understand the words that garbled out of his mouth. "What do you want?" she whispered to the man, panic coloring her thoughts a vivid red. Silver darted in the black depths of his eyes like fish in a deep, unending lake and he smiled, revealing canine teeth that were much longer, much sharper than they had any right to be. Terror blackened her mind but sharpened her senses, turning the scene into something out of her nightmares.  
  
"You," he whispered back. Or perhaps not whispered out loud, but in her mind, and it echoed, fear chasing it in circles until it rang like a bell through her panicked thoughts. He took another step forward, never taking his eyes off her. Adam stepped directly in the man's path this time, belligerent tones of someone with all the money of world and none of its fears streaking through the soft, sweet voice that had enchanted her before. The black eyes finally looked away from her for a moment, freeing her from a paralysis she hadn't known was upon her. She cowered behind Adam, thanking God he was there.   
  
Unfortunately, God was not there that evening. Adam swung out at the black-eyed man, but the man ducked, he grabbed the boy's arm swung him into a small wooden table that sat on the portico. She screamed and he stepped forward, only a foot away from her now. He brought his hand up to her neck, cold hand stroking it softly as those sharp canine teeth sharpened even more. She whimpered quietly but didn't move. She couldn't, paralysis had reclaimed its victim. The man brought his lips to her neck, where she could feel her heart pounding in terror...  
  
And was jarred backward as the monster was knocked away from her. Adam stood in his place, a wooden table leg in his hands, which he had obviously used against the demon on the ground. A demon was what this man was, something out of her worst nightmares. And now he was mad, practically foaming at the mouth.   
  
Adam grabbed her arm and pushed her towards the double doors. "Morgana!" he yelled urgently, brandishing the table leg at the Creature. "Go! Get help." She turned to do so but turned as she heard a scream of agony and rage. The black-eyed Monster had Adam by the throat now, and she ran back to try and help him, knowing as she did so that it would mean certain death for her. It didn't matter. Adam was her friend, possibly more, and she couldn't abandon him. Even as she reached them though, she knew it was too late. The Vampire had already sunk his teeth into the violet-eyed boy's neck, ripping it open.   
  
Morgana heard yells behind her, doors opening and people rushing in to see what was wrong. The monster looked up seeing dozens of angry faces, and decided that now wasn't the time to push things. He threw the Adam at her and she caught his slumping body against hers.   
  
"Next time Sweetheart," the vampire hissed at her, then disappeared as he jumped the ledge of the portico. Morgana sunk to the ground under Adam's weight, knowing there was no way someone could possibly live with so much blood spilled. He watched her with strangely calm eyes, handsome face solemn and pale as ash. She brushed a strand of dark mahogany hair out of his startling, wild violet eyes and he smiled. He didn't speak but she knew what he would have said if he had. He would have said, 'I'm sorry.'   
  
He closed his eyes and a crystal tear fell, sliding over his soft cheek. It took her a moment to realize it was her tear, not his. He was dead. Silently bidding him goodbye, she carefully set him on the ground and stood up, paying no attention to her now crimson dress that clung to her stomach and thighs. Hushed eyes stared at her in pity but she didn't want pity, not while standing in a puddle of her dear friend's blood, while it caked her skin, whispering to her that the stains would never be washed off.   
  
"We must kill the vampire."  
  
  
Avalon pulled herself out of her waking dream, still feeling the blood imprinted upon her body. It had probably only been a few minutes since she had been pulled in though it felt like hours. She didn't want to be alone, not when the rest of the dream was wiggling at the corners of her consciousness, just waiting to make an entrance. It seemed so real, more like a memory of what had once been instead of figments of a more than slightly warped imagination. Those violet eyes...she shook her head.* What about those black ones?* her mind asked her. Just thinking about them caused her to tremble in fear. Forget waiting here. She needed comfort now. And Lei was the only one who could supply it. She rolled off the bed and quietly opened the door, not wanting to wake his brother. She slid silently towards the kitchen where she could almost feel Lei's mind, like an aura.   
  
She paused as she passed the living room, seeing movement in the dark, like a cat stretching lazily on the couch. * Lei doesn't have any animals*, she thought in confusion. Sliding her hand along the wall, she flipped the light on in the living room. Black eyes shiny with confusion and lust stared up at her above lips twisted in a blood-covered snarl, revealing long sharp canine teeth. A girl with pale blond hair lay unconscious in his arms.   
  
Avalon screamed.  
  
*~*  
Thank you for reading! I plan to update once or twice a week as I have this completely written already. Ooh, and please, if you liked this story, go to my website at:  
http://hometown.aol.com/ramseskittyn/enter.html  
This is where I house all my stories, fanfiction and original. Gotta jet. Byeee!   
Kaelyn  



	5. Chapter 4- Explanations and Expectations

AN: Thank you to all of you wonderful, blessed people who took some time out of their day to make mine wonderful! Thanks to: C. Wilhoite (I'm so glad that you like!), Night Goddess (I most certainly will continue! Happy that you're enjoying it), *~Keller~* (Yipees for plot! And thanks for checking out my site!), kitty_katt (Thankee thankee thankee! You're so sweet!), Keya (Ooh, lucky you. You have a study hall to do things like that in.), fallen dark angel( I'm so glad that you like it!), Starwisher (oh, I *like* you're name! Thanks for your wonderful comments), and Kori Handerson(::giggles:: the girl of many names;-D Those are the stories that I like best as well!)  
  
*~* Any or all comments would be completely adored! Cookies to those who do! Oh my, I'm bribing. ::shrugs:: Oh well. Cookies to all that tell me what they think! (I think I have enough cookie dough...::wanders off to cook fresh cookies for her special friends::* I meant special in a good way! *)  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 4:  
  
  
Lei was in the kitchen when he heard the first scream. By the time the second scream cut off abruptly, he was already halfway down the hall and could clearly see what had happened. Avalon was pressed against the wall, staring out of wide eyes over a hand pressed tightly over her mouth. His brother was standing in front of her, lips pulled in a vicious snarl that clearly revealed sharp shiny teeth that were still slightly pink with his last meal. Meanwhile, Lei noticed that the shrieks hadn't exactly stopped, had just been muffled. **Oh god**, he thought to himself, hurrying down the last few feet of the hall to where they stood.  
  
Avalon stared at him, pale waxen skin showing starkly against the green of her irises and the tan hand covering the lower half of her face. Those eyes were currently pleading with him to do something.   
  
Lei sighed wearily and crossed his arms in front of him.   
  
"What happened?" he asked his brother impatiently. Still facing his captive, Lei's brother, Ashyr, growled out an answer.  
  
" She interrupted me when I was feeding. I thought you said she was staying in your room!" This last was said with a dirty look shot at Lei. He scowled, ignoring a twinge of guilt at the look of betrayal on Avalon's face. She obviously thought that Lei was helping a monster who was going to kill her.   
  
" She was supposed to stay there. I can't help it if she wandered out while you were stupid enough to feed in plain sight."  
  
"Don't annoy me little brother. Not while I have your little friend within fang's reach," Ashyr warned in a tightly controlled voice. Lei sighed but said nothing. Taking that as a consent, Ashyr continued. "Well, it doesn't really matter now, does it? What are we going to do with her?" Lei sighed again, sadly this time, gazing at Avalon. He knew she could see pity residing within his strange purple eyes and knew she wouldn't like it.   
  
"I guess we'll just have to mind wipe her. Not really anything else we can do," he said, matter of factly. ~But I had better do it~ he added telepathically so she wouldn't hear. ~Somehow I don't think she'll trust you much~  
  
His brother nodded slowly, thinking it over. ~Okay,~ he finally sent. ~You take her, I need to get that blonde girl out of here before you finish~ Out loud he said in a gruff voice, "make a single sound when I take my hand away, you won't have a throat to scream with. Got it?" She shook her head quickly, eyes widening again. Grinning rather nastily, Ashyr took his hand away slowly. When she didn't say a thing, he moved away so Lei could grab her, making sure to keep an iron strong grip on her arm to prevent her form running away.  
  
Lei took a hold of her firmly and led her back to his room. Faintly behind him he heard his brother picking up his meal and carrying it out the back door. Avalon was strangely silent. Well, perhaps not so strangely, he thought wryly. He would be rather quiet in her position as well.  
  
He closed the door behind them and led her to the bed. Only when they were both sitting on it did he change his grip so he was holding her hand instead of her arms and looked into her face.  
Hate. Pure, unadulterated loathing and rage. Lei couldn't help flinching back a bit from that ferocious gaze.   
  
"How could you be all chummy with that monstrous murderer?" she spat at him. " He killed my..." she drifted off, uncertainty flickering like lightening through the clouds her fury built. But like lightening, it was gone in a sparkle of light. " I thought you were good!" she continued instead. Lei brought one hand up to his temple, rubbing the headache that had begun away. This was **not** how he had envisioned this night to happen. All he wanted to do was sleep and dream of his mother.   
  
"He's my brother," he started in way of explanation, but she cut him off before he could continue.   
  
"He's a monster! A vicious vampire!" Lei looked at her sardonically.   
  
"First off, he's not vicious, although he can be a monster at times," she snorted giving him a scathing look. Defensively, Lei continued. "Second of all, what's so bad about vampires?" She stared at him incredulously.  
  
"What's so bad about them?" she cried, " They drink blood in case you hadn't noticed Lei. That's disgusting! How can you stand to live with a parasite?"  
  
" I am a 'parasite'! It's kind of hard not to live with one," he replied angrily. He hated it when people called his race parasites just because they took blood from humans. What exactly did the vermin think lamb chops were? Fluffy little pieces of cloud?  
  
Avalon froze, realization dawning in her luminous green eyes. She obviously hadn't realized that Lei was a vampire as well. Frantically she tried to jerk away, but he had a strong grip around her delicate wrist and her struggles were only hurting her. With a growl of impatience, he grabbed her other arm and forcefully pushed her back onto the bed.   
  
"I'm not going to hurt you for god's sakes! Calm down!" he hissed at her. Abruptly, she stopped moving, staring at him with even more revulsion than before.  
  
"So does that mean you're going to kill me now that I know?" she asked haughtily, facing him with false bravery. Lei laughed bitterly.   
  
"I suppose I really should but no, I'm not. I'm just going to erase your knowledge of what we are. Don't worry, it won't hurt." He tried to sound comforting, hating that he had to do this. She watched him silently for a moment and then spoke.  
  
"Have you ever done this to me before?" she asked quietly. He shook his head and she asked another question, hesitantly as if she didn't really want to know the answer. "Have you ever taken my blood?"   
  
"No!" he said, shaking his head emphatically. "Never and I never would." She nodded, looking just a bit more relaxed. "Look, if I let you go, will you promise not to run? I swear I won't let anyone hurt you," he said.   
  
" I'm not going to run," she said. "Or kick your ass just yet," she added as an afterthought. Lei grinned. His Avvie was back.  
  
"Good, I appreciate that." Lei let go of her and dropped his hands into his lap. Despite her word, he knew if she did try anything, he would be ready to stop her.   
  
"How old is your brother?" she asked, the tones in her voice hinting there was a reason for her question.   
  
"Nineteen. You know that," he answered, not getting what she meant. She shook her head.   
  
"No, I mean really. Vampires are supposed to be immortal, aren't they? I mean he could be hundreds of years old, couldn't he?" Lei laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I suppose. However, Ashyr really is only twenty three and I really am only sixteen." She nodded, suddenly looking much more relieved.  
  
"Are you sure? Because he looks so much like the man in my dream." At Lei's uncomprehending look she quickly outlined the dream that had sent her running to him earlier.   
  
Lei was appalled and disturbed by the vividness of her dream. He had never heard the tale before but something about it ran a shiver of familiarity up his spine where it came to a rest inside his heart, niggling its way into it like a cat trying to get comfortable.  
  
" I guess now that I really think about it, the man in my dream was older. I just saw the resemblance in your brother and freaked." She smiled wryly. " I suppose it didn't really help that he was feeding at the moment either." Lei chuckled and agreed. Avalon had relaxed by now, obviously once she got used to the idea of what they were, it didn't bother her as much. Suddenly she frowned.   
  
"How is it that you could be a vampire? You've grown up along with me," she asked suspiciously. Lei groaned, knowing that would come up sooner or later.   
  
" My brother and I are what you would call lamia. Born vampires. We age just like humans do but we can stoop the aging process at anytime."   
  
"Hmn," she murmured, taking that in as she chewed absently on a fingernail. Avalon was a chronic nailbiter and none of her nails were very long. She looked back up at him. "So if vampires are real, are other things real as well? Witches? Ghosts? The Easter bunny?" Lei smiled but inside his stomach was sinking. If he told her about the nightworld, he could really put her in danger.  
  
** You're going to be mind wiping her in a minute anyway** his mind argued, ** it won't really matter for long anyway** Somewhere deep inside he knew that he was just making up an excuse to finally share his secret with his best friend, but he pushed that part even deeper within him and ignored it. Taking a big breath, he began.  
  
" Well, once upon a time there were two women named Hellewise and Maya..."  
  
  
*~*~*  
Thanks for reading! Next part will hopefully be out next...::stops to calculate:: next Thursday! I'm going to my G-parents house till Wednesday so it won't be before then. See yas!  
  
Kisses n' kittens,  
Kaelyn (yes, I like the letter 'K', don't you?)  



	6. Chapter 5 - Uh, yeah. No title

AN: Eek! So sorry that this took so long to get out. Life calls I guess. Well, that and the new Elizabeth Peters book. Has anyone ever read her? I wish someone would write fanfiction for her Amelia Peabody series but I'm too lazy to. Ah well. On to the thanks.  
  
~Thank you to these fantastic, fabulous people who reviewed the story: Kitty_kat(short but infinitely sweet. Thanks hon!), Dark Princess (I'm glad you love it!), Empress Jade(Wow! Thanks! I'll write you a nicer thank you letter in a moment), Kris(Yipee! I'm looking forward to posting more!), ~Keller~( I love Cliffhangers so I'm afraid you'll have to deal with them quite a bit. To make up for them though, here:********, lots of stars!), and Keya(A three toed sloth? Eep! I think I'll just post this instead!)   
  
Thank you all you sweet people! As always, Reviews are looked upon as the best possible things in the world, well, next to a really good book. I'll keep my plea short because I want to write some more before I get out of my writing spree! See ya.  
  
Luvs,  
Kael  
  
  
  
Chapter 5:  
  
"Lei, you realize that if this were to come from anyone other than you I would already be on the phone with a mental hospital. I'm still not sure I'm not going to." Lei raised an eyebrow at his friend and she threw her arms up in a gesture that said 'you can't blame me'. "I mean come on. How do I know that you and your brother aren't demented or something and just pretend you're vampires? I've heard there's a disease that makes people think that," she continued. Lei grinned at her, purposely exposing his canine teeth. He saw her eyes widen as he felt the changes come over him.  
  
He knew exactly what she was seeing. Already strangely colored eyes becoming unearthly, the slight differences in his skin color and how his lips seemed to become fuller, redder in anticipation. Not to mention canine teeth which had been fairly normal, perhaps only a little sharper than usual, sharpen into needle points. She laughed nervously.  
  
"Wow Lei, the monster look becomes you," she remarked. He laughed as well but his mind was on other things at the moment. Like how he hadn't fed since last night. And how with his senses heightened as they were, Avalon was looking more tempting than she had any right to be. **This is getting dangerous** he thought wildly, trying to reverse the effects. Only with difficulty could he force himself to change back, and even then his gums were tingling violently, almost to the point of hurting. His jaw ached horribly. He was going to have to feed really soon.   
  
Lei sighed. "I'm going to have to blank you now. I can't allow you to know this," he said, just wanting to get it over with. He was about two inches from losing control. Two inches which Avalon was rapidly closing at the moment. He forced himself not to flinch away as she drew closer, her breath warm on his cheek as she studied him.  
  
"So exactly how do these work?" she asked curiously, completely ignoring what he had said before. When he didn't speak she brought a finger up to his mouth. Alarmed, he pressed his lips together tightly. She looked coyly up at him through her eyelashes, tracing his bottom lip. "Do they need...stimulus or can you just do it any old time?" she questioned.   
  
**Oh Gods,** he thought frantically. **Does she even realize what she's doing?** His breath was coming quicker now, and his heart was pounding. The tingling in his gums had turned into a roar.   
  
"Don't play with me," he whispered. She leaned in closer, her mouth a bare inch from his.  
  
"Why not?" she whispered back, staring into his eyes, a strange expression on her face.   
  
"Because you might get hurt," he said. He hadn't realized that he was slowly leaning away until his elbows pressing against the bedcovers were the only thing keeping him upright. Scared at what he might do if this didn't stop soon, he added "Please," pleading with her, aware that desperation and something more was choking up his voice.   
  
She sighed, long and slow like flower petals uncurling in the sun. Something flashed in her eyes and she pulled away to the end of the bed. Gratefully, Lei flopped back on the bed, taking a few seconds to calm himself down,listening to his heart pound. Carefully, he pushed himself back into a sitting position. Avalon refused to look at him, instead concentrating on a piece of abstract art that hung on the opposite wall. Aware that **something** had happened between them but not able to figure out what, Lei was silent for several minutes.   
  
"I...I had better wipe you now," he said tentatively. She nodded, still watching the picture. Suddenly she turned to him, tears turning her eyes a luminous green that glowed like a cat's eyes in the dark. Guilty but not knowing why, he reached a hand out to her. He caressed her cheek, dimly aware of the fuzzy peach feel and look of it. He could almost smell the fruit ripening in the sun.   
  
He pulled her to him, comforting her. A few seconds later she reached up with a hand to pull her thick dark hair away from her neck, baring it just a few inches from his face.   
  
"You can do it if you want," she said, voice muffled by his shoulder. "I wouldn't mind. I want you to. And then you can block me or whatever." Lei hesitated, fighting the ache in his jaw that had returned full blast. She continued quietly. "It won't kill me will it?" He shook his head, unable to speak but knowing she would be able to feel the movement. "Then do it. I can tell that you want to."   
  
He paused for a moment more, then lowered his head to her shoulder. Tentatively, he touched his lips to her neck, feeling her pulse beating under the fragile skin. Still uncertain, he cupped the back of her neck with one hand and kissed her again, in the hollow between her shoulder and neck. She sighed softly, resting her head on his shoulder. Her pulse had quickened suddenly under his touch.   
  
Carefully, he trailed a line of kisses up to her jaw, then back down to where her pulse was strongest, aware that this would mean more than just a meal. But by now he had teased himself more than he could handle and felt his teeth sharpening once more. Giving in to instincts, he opened his mouth and pierced the skin over her pulse.   
  
He felt her slender body stiffen in her arms, aware that it probably stung. He stroked her back gently to relax her. ~It will hurt more if you struggle~ he sent to her, aware that they were linked and so she could hear him. He felt almost a little disappointed, as if he had expected something to be there, some other connection, but it was missing. **What were you expecting Lei? The soulmate principle?** he sneered at himself. Everyone knew that that was just a load of crap Daybreakers made up to justify what they did with humans.   
  
Avalon seemed to catch his thoughts and dreamily asked him ~What's the soulmate principle?~ She had relaxed completely in his arms now and her blood flowed sweetly inside him.  
  
~It's this legend in the Nightworld. Supposedly everyone has one person in the world whose soul makes them whole. A load of rubbish if you ask me.~ She seemed to be thinking about this. He could sense her mind in bursts of color, thoughts racing through it like silver mermaids under leagues of water. Perhaps not soulmates, but something, he thought fuzzily. He knew she could sense his mind as well, which was definitely unusual.  
  
~I don't think it's rubbish, just wishful thinking. I have to admit, I'd like to have a connection like that with someone~   
  
Before he had time to register the underlying meaning of that statement, their peaceful world was interrupted by a loud "Ahem." He could see annoyance coloring her mind orange and knew that was probably what she was seeing in his mind as well. Reluctantly he pulled away, biting his tongue on all the scathing remarks that were burning to slip out.  
  
"Am I interrupting something?" Ashyr asked from where he was leaning casually against the doorstop. Avalon backed away from Lei, straightening her clothes and flipping her hair over the two little bite marks that marred her neck.   
  
"Yes, you are," Lei growled, licking his lips. Ashyr laughed musically and stepped into the room. Avalon shrank away from him slightly. She obviously was still a little afraid of him. But then, Lei thought with a sigh, she had always been rather uncomfortable around him.  
  
"It seems to me that you should be mind wiping her instead of having a little midnight snack, little brother." Lei narrowed his eyes, knowing that for once his brother was right. That didn't mean he would admit it however.  
  
"Shove it 'Shyr, I was getting to it." Ashyr shrugged.  
  
"Whatever Lei. I don't believe you'll object however, if I stay to be sure. I know you at least would love it if your best friend knew about us."   
  
"I don't see why she can't. There are no elders around to bother about it. No one cares, that's why we came here in the first place," he argued, knowing he was fighting a losing battle. Even he knew it was dangerous for everyone involved if they left her the way she was. He spoke again before Ashyr could roll off a list of reasons why they had to do this. "I know I know. I'm sorry Avvie, but I have to." He smiled sympathetically at her, willing her to understand. Reluctantly she nodded.   
  
"I know, go ahead." Sighing, he brought his fingers up to her temples and stared into her eyes. He felt himself falling into them, kind of like falling into a pine tree except without the pain. He was in her mind, at least superficially, as he had been before. Again he could see her feelings like colors. Red-black fear threading through cool green calm and deep violet love that was almost the same color of his eyes. Carefully he reached in, ready to twitch her memories of this night away, pinched them like one would unspun wool and pulled. But it wouldn't come. Something was resisting but it wasn't her. Frowning in consternation, he tried again, wrapping his mind firmer around the memories and tugging.   
  
This time agony spun through his mind like knives tearing through his body. Pitch black and fire red strips colored his vision, obscuring the salvation of Avalon's green eyes. Vaguely he heard himself gasping for breath, body doubled over on the bed but he was caught within his mind as waves of excruciating pain battered him from all sides. It seemed to go on forever until finally, black descended on his mind, bringing with it cool relief.  



	7. Chapter 6- Revelations (i.e. Play Nice, ...

AN: Sorry this took a bit longer to get out than usual! I have had quite a horrible time with my computer lately. But yea! It's here now!   
  
~Thanks you to the angelical, perfect, wonderful, breathtaking people who have sent comments my way! You light up my life! Kisses and exuberant hugs to:   
Starwisher(I'm so glad that you enjoy this!),  
Kitty_Kat (well your welcome for the thanks! It's the least I could do for the wonderful reviews you give me!),   
*~Keller~*( no worries! I can't kill the main character yet! And I'm glad you like the chapter names. They're fun to make up!),  
Myst (torturing? Well, yes, perhaps. It is fun, I can say that! ::grins::),  
Diomede (Ahh! Don't apologize! I'm just happy whenever you can find the time to review! And it was such a nice one at that!),  
Pixie ( Uh, I think the flashback took place in Massachusetts. I'm so glad that you like it so far and I hope I don't disappoint you if I give something away!), And  
Aerin Honour( Was this fast enough for you? ::grins:: I hope so! And thanks!)  
  
Please people! Review like these nice people above. I love to hear any comments on what you think and if ya do, you get your name up there like them! Cool deal, ne? It also helps me to get chapters up quicker. Yes, :: cringes:: I'm afraid that I do need persuasion because I'm normally very lazy. Okay, enough pleas and onto the story now!  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter Six:  
  
Lei placed two cool fingertips over her temples, looking deep into her eyes. She prepared herself to forget all of this, wondering briefly whether she would even know something was missing. Probably not. She didn't want to forget how it felt to have him kiss her, and let her give him something back. It had felt so right. Avalon felt a slight tugging in the back of her mind, felt his presence within her like a supernova.  
  
Lei frowned slightly, brow creasing in concentration. She could still remember everything quite clearly so he was obviously having a harder time than he had thought. Again she felt a tugging, firmer this time, more persistent. It almost tickled. He tugged again but this time she felt something flare up within her, like watching a bomb go off inside her head. She could see it, hear it, but the explosion didn't hurt. Instead it pushed outward, where she knew Lei was resting in her mind.   
  
Desperately she tried to pull whatever it was back inside her but it was too late. The violet irises in front of her were swallowed up by the blackness of pupils as Lei gasped suddenly in pain. His back spasmed and arched in an involuntary reaction to whatever had come out of her. He seemed to be staring through her, seeing but not at the same time. She was absolutely terrified.  
  
She couldn't break his gaze, petrified in fear as he fought for breath, body wracked with convulsions. Suddenly something tangled in her hair and pulled her off the bed. Pain screamed through her scalp from the rough treatments but she was glad for it. As soon as she had looked away Lei's body had collapsed. His brother Ashyr was holding him, shaking him frantically in an effort to wake him up.  
  
Carefully Avalon stood up on legs suddenly gone weak and tottered over to the bed. Ashyr looked up at her, hatred burning in normally icy eyes.  
  
"What the hell did you do to him?" He yelled furiously. He looked down at his brother's limp body in his arms and carefully lay him down on the bed. Lei's already pale skin was almost translucent now, features completely lax in unconsciousness.   
  
"I...I don't know," she stuttered, clasping shaking hands over her stomach as if that would help to get rid of the bottomless feeling in it. "I just felt this tugging and then something erupted and went after him. I couldn't stop it, I swear!" He didn't look very convinced but he didn't say anything. Quietly he checked Lei's pulse and made sure he was breathing alright.   
  
"Well he's not dead, so I guess that's a good sign. I suppose we'll just have to wait until he wakes up to see what happened." He turned a glare on her. "In the meantime, you aren't getting near him." She started to protest but the look on his face was clearly telling her to try so she decided against it. Ashyr was probably just waiting for a chance to take out his anger on her and she didn't need to provoke him anymore.  
  
Sighing, she went to sit in the bean bag in the corner, hoping he would wake up soon. She really didn't want to be under that death glare for very long.  
  
Someone obviously heard her wish because a few minutes later Lei groaned and sat up, wincing as he did so.   
  
"Now that," he muttered, "was one helluva ride."  
  
*****  
  
The first thing he was aware of was the ice pick that someone had shoved through his head. He groaned and sat up, grimacing as a white hot bar of agony flared straight through his head from temple to temple. Aware that two sets of eyes were staring at him he said the first thing that came to mind.  
  
"Now that was one helluva ride." His brother stared at him as if he'd gone crazy. He shook his head in wry amusement.  
  
"You started having seizures and that's all that you can say for yourself?" he asked. From behind Lei, two arms were hugging him tight.  
  
"I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened and I couldn't stop it!" Avalon said. He could feel her body quivering behind him in fear. Lei leaned back against her in comfort; whether it was to comfort her or himself he wasn't sure. In front of him, his brother was glaring.   
  
"I know what happened," Lei said quietly, wondering what was wrong with Ashyr. Surely he didn't think that Avalon meant to hurt him. "Someone set a spell on her to keep people from interfering with her mind. I gathered that much before it blasted me. I don't know why or who though. I mean, what's the point?" Avalon shifted slightly so she could look him in the face.  
  
"A...a spell?" she asked, alarmed. Lei nodded, not noticing the sudden uneasiness that crossed her face.   
  
"Yeah, but no one here is strong enough to do this kind of thing. It takes an extremely strong witch to cast a spell like that one." Ashyr snorted.   
  
"Okay, so the girl has a spell on her. I think we have some more eminent problems at the moment, such as what to do with her," he said giving her a chilling grin. Lei knew exactly what his brother would prefer to do if he had his way. And there was no way Lei would let him touch her.  
  
" We aren't going to do anything with her. Since we can't get rid of the memories she's just going to have to live with them. And yes 'Shyr, live is the key word there." His brother scowled furiously.  
  
"How do we know that she won't go blabbing out our secret?" he challenged.   
  
"Hello," Avalon interrupted, looking peeved. "I'm still here so I'd appreciate it if you two would stop talking as if I weren't. And I'm not going to tell anyone. I'm not that stupid; anyone who would actually believe me would only kill me because they would be part of this Nightworld thing too." Ashyr scowled even deeper but Lei smiled gratefully at her. He turned to his brother.  
  
"We'll just have to take a blood oath. There's magic in that, and that way she can't betray us and we can't betray her," he suggested, putting emphasis on the last part. As much as he loved his brother, he wouldn't trust him any further than he could throw him. Ashyr sighed impatiently.   
  
"Fine," he snapped. "But let's hurry up and do this." Lei turned back to Avalon, who was looking more than slightly alarmed.   
  
"Don't worry, it's just a little bit, as if we were blood brothers." He smiled sheepishly. "I've already taken a bit of yours so now it's your turn." He stood up and crossed over to his desk. Opening a drawer, he took out a wicked looking wooden knife and brought it back. She watched him, guarded interest on her face as he flicked the knife across his wrist. A thin line of red appeared where the knife had cut. He held it out to her.  
  
She gave him a look that clearly expressed her revulsion but reluctantly brought his wrist to her mouth. After a minute or so he took his wrist back from her, rubbing at the stinging cut. Ashyr leaned forward now, fangs out and ready but Lei shook his head.   
  
"Nuh uh, we're doing this the civil way," he told his brother. *Besides, this way I can control how much you take from her,* he thought grimly. Before Avalon could react, he grabbed her wrist and made a small cut at the base of it. She cried out in surprise but said nothing. Ashyr looked rather sullen but took her wrist. Then they repeated the process again.   
  
Avalon looked down at her wrist which, because of the vampire blood now in her, had completely healed. She looked slightly nauseated but exhilarated at the same time.   
  
"I think I should probably go home now," she said. Lei nodded.   
  
"I'll walk you home," he told her, getting up form the bed. She smiled gratefully. Ashyr got up as well and left without another word. "Just let me get dressed and we'll go," he told her. She turned around and went to study the abstract print she had been looking at earlier, giving him at least some semblance of privacy. He appreciated the gesture as he got dressed, although Lord knew it wasn't as if they hadn't seen each other hundreds of times before when they were little. Somehow that was just different.  
  
"You can turn around now," he told her. They went out his window, it was faster than going out the front door and then doubling around, and then passed through the yard and out onto the street silently. Avalon lived only a few blocks away, less than ten minutes walking if they cut through a few yards, and he knew the way by rote. They had often snuck out as kids to create mischief in the neighborhood.   
  
Avalon was glancing around in interest. He knew what she was seeing. To her it would seem as if she were a blind deaf girl who suddenly could see and hear. She had been given enough blood that her senses would be heightened. She turned to him in delight.  
  
"Is this how it always is for you? I can see the bug on that flower over there and it's at least twenty feet away!" He laughed and nodded.   
  
"Yeah, you just get used to it after a while I guess." She sighed wistfully and linked arms with him.  
  
"I would never get used to this," she murmured." I wouldn't want to." She was silent again as the ran across Mr. Weyant's yard. He was mean and always threatened to use his rifle on them if they trespassed. Not that the threat ever stopped them but neither were they anxious to find out if he would carry through. Once they were past his house she stopped though.   
  
Lei looked at her quizzically as she stared up at him, a strange expression on her face.   
  
"What?" he said laughing.   
  
"I never realized just how handsome you are," she said quietly, watching his reaction through her lashes. His stomach lurched quite suddenly, as if butterflies had suddenly taken wing inside it. What was going on?  
  
"Ah, thanks," he replied, not sure what to say. "You've certainly improved from the scabby-kneed girl you were when we were little." Something like anger flashed in her face and she turned away from him. She started walking back towards her house, muttering quietly enough that he couldn't make out what she was saying.   
  
Lei stood in shock for a moment before trotting to catch up with her. "What's wrong?" he asked, thoroughly confused now. She shook her head emphatically, crossing her arms tightly in front of her.  
  
"Nothing Lei, just don't worry about it," she snapped  
  
"No. Why are you mad at me?" She whirled around to glare at him.   
  
"Oh come on Lei. 'You've certainly improved from the scabby-kneed girl you were when we were little'? What a great compliment. And I wondered why girls were falling at your feet," she hissed sarcastically. She took off again, running this time. The vampire blood had brought other changes on her as well. She was *fast*. By the time he had caught up with her again she was already climbing up the trellis to her bedroom window.   
  
"Avvie, wait!" he called up to her. She climbed in her window and shut it tightly. He considered climbing up after her but just then she locked the window and drew the blinds down. There went that idea. Angry now, he spun on his heel and stomped off. If she wanted to be that way then that was fine with him!   
  
*Girls* he thought in disgust.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
*Boys* she thought angrily.*They can't get anything right.* Avalon sighed. She was madder at herself than him at this point. How stupid could she be? She had practically just thrown herself at him and he didn't even do anything. Just came back with some lame-ass comment. She should have known better. Of course he didn't like her, she was practically his sister.   
  
Avalon carefully undressed and got under her covers, snuggling down with the little teddy bear he had won her at the county fair a few years ago. It had been at about that time that she had decided she liked him as more than just a friend. She kissed the velvet head, hugging it tight. Still...  
  
She ran a finger along her throat where she could still feel his mouth burning against it. *If only*she thought as the events of the night finally caught up with her. She fell asleep still hugging the ragged teddy bear in her arms.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Well, did you enjoy it? Then let me know! Write what you think in the pretty little box down there. And you benefit too! Just think of all that extra writing practice you get from it...No? Okay, well then, do your good deed for the day then.  
  
Byeee!  
Kae  
  
Email: kaelyn@quik.com  
Webpage: http://hometown.aol.com/ramseskittyn/enter.html  
Quote for the day:   
"I've bought a one way ticket   
To a one road town  
Found a half hearted love  
With a no brained clown"  
-My little country song, by me!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	8. Chapter 7- Frying pan to Fire

AN: Hi people! ::Hides behind chair:: soo...been a while huh? Well, I have a reason(yes, how many times have you heard that?) My excuse is that my internet server has been playing tricks on me. It wouldn't let me on at all and then when it did it refused to upload. So there's my excuse, here's my apology: SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE THE POOR WRITER WITH THE CRAPPY COMUTER! Better now? Okay then, on to the stories. By the way, I'll probably be updating this once a week somewhere between Friday and Sunday, just so you know when to expect it.   
  
Humongous thanks to these sweet and inspiring people...uh, actually, I'll put these on the bottom for those who actually care. See ya there!  
  
Chapter Seven:  
  
Susan sat in her creative writing class feeling incredibly uncreative. She looked down at the poem she had idly written and grimaced. It was somewhere along the lines of 'Roses are red' and was horrible. Sighing, she crumpled up the paper and took out a new one. Tapping her pencil rhythmically on the blank sheet she turned to study her classmates. Her boyfriend Brier smiled charmingly and blew a kiss to her, which she happily returned. Then he turned back to his conversation with Lei and a shape shifter named Taysin.   
  
She glanced to her other side and noticed Lei's friend Avalon was slumped over in her chair, writing fast. She must have had a burst of inspiration. Susan wondered what she was writing. A stray strand of black hair fell across her face and she impatiently brushed it back over her shoulder along with the rest of her hair.  
  
Susan widened her eyes in surprise. Faintly at the base of the other girl's neck were two scars that could be nothing other than a vampire's bite. Susan grinned and turned again to the trio in the corner. She studied Lei for a moment. Everyday he streaked his hair a different color. She guessed it was to be original or something. Today he had picked a color that she had nicknamed gothic-royale, meaning that deep, vibrant purple color that goths and royalty both liked so much. It matched the color of his eyes. His skin had that slightly flushed look that she knew so well. Yes, Lei was certainly looking well fed.   
  
~Brier~ she sent to her boyfriend, knowing that he could hear her through their connection. She wasn't telepathic enough to talk to Lei unless he was already connected with her but Brier was her soulmate and they could speak anytime they wanted. One of the many perks of the deal. The handsome blonde boy looked up, hazel eyes sparkling.   
  
~Yeah?~ he asked.   
  
~Get Lei for me, I want to ask him something~ She could feel the made vampire's curiosity but he knew better than to ask. He poked the boy next to him and said something. Lei turned to look at her.  
  
~Yes?~ came his voice within her head. It sounded a little impatient. She smiled sweetly at him.  
  
~I thought you said that Avalon wasn't for that purpose~ she said, trying unsuccessfully to hide the fact that she was a bit worried. Avalon seemed nice and if he was feeding from her now. This time his voice almost vibrated with impatience.  
  
~Mind explaining that statement?~ he asked.   
  
~Yesterday when I suggested you feed off her you practically bit my head off. Said she wasn't for that purpose. Now, unless I'm mistaken, those are bite marks in her neck~ She felt Lei's mental sigh.  
  
~Butt out of what's not your business witch~ he sent crossly. He broke off their connection with a snap. Susan growled in frustration.  
  
~Brier, get him again for me~ Brier gave her a strange look but did what she said.  
  
~What!~ Lei snarled.   
  
~Does she know? About what you are?~ she asked quickly, fearing he would break the connection again.   
  
~No, of course not~ He paused for just a second too long, setting bells of alarm off in her head.   
  
~Lei! That's a lie, I know it is. What do you think you're playing at?~ she yelled at him. He glared at her from across the room.   
  
~She found out on accident and we can't erase the memory because someone put a spell on her. Speaking of which, do you happen to know anything about that?~ She shook her head slightly.   
  
~That would take quite a bit of power to do. If you're accusing me then you should know better. Even if I could there's really no point~  
  
~I know. Just thought I'd check. I don't know who else might have done it. By the way, if you breathe a word about this I will personally tear you limb from limb. And that includes your precious little boyfriend~   
  
~Well duh. She'd be in a lot of danger if I did. If you want I can give her a few charms to keep her safe. If anyone new happens to come she could easily be passed off as a witch~ He nodded thoughtfully.   
~Okay, good idea~ He seemed to be struggling with something for a few minutes. Finally he spoke again. ~Suze? Thanks~ She smiled.  
  
~No problem. I'll write her a note now~ She turned back to the blank paper and began to write, aware that he still hadn't cut off their connection. ~Is there something else you wanted?~ she prompted.   
  
~Yeah, can you ask her why she's so mad at me?~ Susan laughed out loud. The teacher raised an eyebrow at her and she quickly looked down to hide her smile. If she knew anything about those two, she had a pretty good idea of why Avalon would be mad. Sometimes men were such dunces.   
  
~Sure I'll ask her~ she told him. Finally he receded from her mind, leaving her to concentrate on her letter.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Avalon held up a small folded piece of paper between two fingers and raised an eyebrow. She was standing with feet slightly apart and the other hand on her hip.  
  
"You said you wanted to talk to me?" she asked. Susan smiled cheerily up at the girl from where she sat propped up by a tree a fair distance away from all the other lunchers. She patted the grass next to her and Avalon sat, looking slightly suspicious. Well, Susan would be too if she were her. They had never really spoken before though she and Lei had a rather tenuous friendship. Tenuous being the key word there.   
  
"I wanted to tell you something," she said. It was hard for her to start; she hadn't ever told anyone what she was before. There hadn't ever been any need. " First of all I just wanted to say that I know you know 'bout the Nightworld. No, don't worry, I won't hurt you," she continued quickly as the other girl made as if to escape. "I'm on your side, that's what I wanted to talk about. Protection." Avalon slowly settled back down onto the grass and stared at her.   
  
" How did you know?" she asked. Susan laughed.   
  
" I forced it out of Lei, in creative writing. By the way, you really shouldn't flash that thing around." She said, indicating the two healing wounds on the girl's neck. "The wrong people might notice. I am a witch, just so you know. I could get you a poultice that will help it heal quicker, if you like." Avalon nodded gratefully, looking down at her ands where they were clasped in her lap. She looked up.  
  
" How did you force it out of Lei?" she asked curiously.   
  
" Mmn. It's hard to lie when you're speaking mind to mind. I guessed and he swore me to secrecy. And you can be sure I won't break my promise." They smiled at each other, easily becoming friends.  
  
"You said something about protection?" Avalon asked. Susan nodded.   
  
"I can make you some charms if you'd like. They would help you a little although I'm not strong enough to do any real protection."   
  
"I would like that. What kind of charms?" Susan thought for a moment then spoke.  
  
"Well, Awareness for one. That will help you notice if something is out of place. Sensitivity, Strength, umm, perhaps a Disorientation spell that I can teach you to set off. It wouldn't last long but it might help if you ever need to run. I'm not sure, I'd have see what else I can do but those would be good starters, don't you think?" Avalon nodded happily.   
  
"That would be wonderful," she said. "So who else is part of this Nightworld?"   
  
"Well, there's me, a witch, Lei and Ashyr are lamia, born vampires," Avalon nodded to show she understood. "Then there's Taysin, who's a leopard shifter. Amanda, that senior girl is also a witch but don't mess with her, she's nasty. And then of course there's my Brier. He's a made vampire. He's actually near seventy five years old but he sure doesn't look it does he?" Susan giggled softly, knowing she had that dreamy far-away look in her eyes. Avalon sighed longingly.  
  
"Are you two soulmates?" she asked. Susan looked at her sharply.  
  
"Yes, we are. Most Nightworlders don't believe in it though."   
  
"I know. Lei thinks it's just a load of rubbish. I think it's a dream come true though." Susan smiled.   
  
"Are you and Lei, you know, soulmates?" she asked tentatively. The other girl scowled suddenly.   
  
"I certainly hope not! He's such a moronic...jerk!" she said fervently, anger sparking in her eyes. **Uh oh. Trouble in Paradise, just as I thought** Susan nodded knowingly.  
  
"Perhaps I should make him an Awareness charm as well?" she suggested slyly. Avalon rolled her eyes.  
  
"I'm not sure even that would help him. I threw myself at him last night and he didn't even seem to realize what was going on!" She sighed in frustration. " Sometimes I just absolutely hate him."   
  
"Honey, all men are completely clueless. It just so happens that Lei is a Redfern and so he's even worse." Avalon gave her an inquisitive glance and she explained.  
  
"The Redferns are the most prominent lamia family in the Nightworld. They are directly descended from Maya, the first of the vampires. Unfortunately, they aren't exactly known for their brains. Too much inbreeding if you ask me, especially ones that come from the enclaves. Those are places where only Night worlders live, mostly vampires. They're usually really secluded."   
  
"Did Lei come from an enclave?" Avalon asked. Susan nodded.   
  
"Yeah but his brother kidnapped him and took him away when he was really little. Before he came here." Avalon frowned slightly, disturbed.  
  
"How do you know that?" she asked. It was obvious that Lei had never told her about his past. Susan shrugged sheepishly.   
  
"I'm nosy. I tend to find things out. Anyway, never mind that. Is Lei your soulmate?" Avalon shrugged and shook her head.   
  
"Don't know, what's it like?" Susan leaned back against the tree again.  
  
"It's wonderful. Like lightening and sparks and it's like going into a different world where only you and your other half are. You know everything about them and they know everything about you but you don't even care because they still love you. Once you've found him your linked whether you like it or not, even in death." Susan watched the other girl. She seemed pretty wretched.  
  
"No, I don't think we are then. Nothing like that happened, although it was kind of nice. I could see his mind, like one of those heat sensor devices only with his feelings. It was comforting but nothing like that."   
  
"Hmm, doesn't really sound like you are. You could see his mind though? Was he letting you?" Avalon shook her head.   
  
"I don't think so. He seemed surprised." Susan looked thoughtful for a moment.  
  
"I don't know. That's definitely not normal," she mused.   
  
"That's what he said. I don't know what to do about him. I've tried everything to make him realize that I like him aside from just out and saying 'hey Lei, I love you'. Even then I have this sneaking suspicion that he would just say it back, thinking I meant as a brother or a friend." Susan laughed, completely understanding how the other girl felt. She had literally had to whap Brier upside the head before he understood but even then it was only because the soulmate link kicked in.  
  
"Perhaps I can help you out. But later because here comes Prince Charming now." Lei was approaching them, looking slightly uneasy. This was certainly going to be fun getting them together, Susan thought.  
  
Okay, here are my prolonged thank yous. In no particular order except for how they appear on my review list, Thanks to:  
  
Starwisher: you hate suspense?! Eek! You're really going to hate me in that case. I'm addicted to it. I'm really glad that you like my story though! And as for the Ashyr thing, he's not doing anything just yet....but now I've said too much. Thanks!  
  
Kristy Marie: Thank you, thank you, thank you! They say all good things come in threes...or if they don't then they should! ::grins:: wow, all in one sitting huh? Cool! And thank you so much for your review!  
  
* ~Keller~*: Hee, hee, hee. Thank you for your blessing in the pretty little box! And sorry about the 'not soon' part. I tried, really! As for your question, I'd have to say B. Charmed. I haven't seen much of Roswell and Dawson's Creek has gone so downhill lately. My favorites are Buffy, Angel, and Gilmore Girls, especially Gilmore girls!  
  
Myst: Yeah, mental anguish. I like that. Mental anguish is good for the readers. Gives 'em something interesting. I mean, how boring would it be if they just said 'I love you', 'I love you too' *smoochie, smoochie* ? Fun is definitely the word for it!   
  
kitty_kat: you are so * sweet*! I think the expression 'da bomb' works just fine for me. And to continue our little tradition here: thank you for saying thank you for saying thank you...and I think that's all the thanks so far! One question though, as one who is completely illiterate when it comes to internet lingo, what does g2g mean? Anyways, Thank you!  
  
And lastly but never leastly, : Lisa B: I'm so glad that you like the way that I write! And sorry this isn't soon but at least it's up!   
  
Well, that's all for now. Any comments or criticisms would be vastly appreciated for the sweet, thoughtful things they are. Just remember, there's a reason for that blank box down there. To make writers feel good. See ya!  
  
  



	9. Chapter 8- Tell Me a Story, Sing Me a So...

AN: Hi peoples! Another chapter for you, aren't you happy? I don't have much to say so on to the story. Thanks are at the bottom.  
  
Please, comments, criticisms, anything, are appreciated and welcome. They are like Godiva chocolate to me...mmm. So please write!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter Eight:  
  
Susan found them in the old recording studio in the school. She paused to listen to the song, enchanted by the slow sad lyrics and flowing background music. She had no idea that this was what they did in here. She had just assumed like everyone else that they went in here for privacy. She quietly listened to the song, not wanting to interrupt them just yet.  
  
Falling stars spend all their time  
Burning bright and fast  
People who see them call them signs  
Don't they know? Fallin' stars don't last.  
  
Dreamers seem to spend their days  
With their heads in clouds  
To never wake up would be so sweet  
Too bad it doesn't work that way  
  
This world is full of sinners and schemes  
And love is just wishful thoughts  
'Cause fallin' stars just never last  
And you can't rely on dreams  
  
Susan felt like crying. It felt as if the song held no hope. The music died out and she sniffed. Lei and Avalon turned around at the sound.  
  
"Sorry I interrupted. That is such a sad song!" she said, smiling at them. Avalon smiled back at her.   
  
"It's okay. That was what I was writing in creative writing a few days ago. Remember?" Susan nodded, understanding. She wrote it when she was so bummed about Lei.  
  
"Well, I have the charms for you, they're at my house because I didn't dare bring them to school. If you guys want to come over now then you can. My mom's not there." They nodded and quickly turned off the equipment, ejecting a tape before they did so.   
  
"Is that what you were recording on?" she asked. Avalon nodded.   
  
"Yeah, it has all my best songs on it. I plan on sending it away to try and get someone interested in me." Susan smiled as they headed out of the school and turned down the road that led to her house.  
  
"Well, you're certainly good enough to make it. I wish you luck!" Avalon sighed.  
  
"I guess that means that there isn't a charm for that huh?" Lei laughed.  
  
"If there was then she and every other witch would be rolling in the dough."   
  
"Too true," Susan admitted wryly. "Here's my house." They had stopped in front of a jungle. Literally. Plants were growing everywhere around the house, giving the cute little home a definite exotic air. Avalon nodded in approval.  
  
"I always admired this place. I didn't know you lived here." Susan nodded and led them down a plant-choked path.  
  
"As you can see, both my mother and I love plants. It really comes in handy sometimes because almost all of these can be used in spells." She left them in the living room as she went to get the charms she had made. She came back out holding a necklace and presented it to Avalon.  
  
"Here, this way you won't look like a total doofus carrying around a bunch of pouches.   
  
Avalon looked at the necklace in her hands. It was beautiful, if a rather simple design. The simple chain was short enough that it would fit like a choker around her neck, with strands of silver chain hanging down to make the actual necklace part. Each individual strand held three semiprecious stones of varying kinds and at the end was a small silver ball. They were cut so that when she put it on the multicolored strands would form a sort of design. The very middle one held a black Dahlia, which Susan had explained earlier as the sign for a witch. They had decided earlier to pass her off as a lost witch who had just recently been discovered. Avalon smiled her delight, smiling even more as Lei helped her to put it on.   
  
"I thought you might like it," Susan said happily. "Each of the strands are a different spell. See, the little balls on the end hold the herbs that were needed." Lei nodded, impressed.   
  
"I didn't know you could do this kind of thing Suze," he commented. She shrugged.  
  
"Jewelry is my specialty." She pointed to her own various jewelry. "Oh! I almost forgot!" she exclaimed, turning to get something else. She returned quickly, hand clutching something else. She opened her hand for them to see and Avalon couldn't help but give a kind of stifled gasp. In her hand were three exquisitely worked rings, two smaller and obviously made for female hands and one larger, more masculine one.   
  
"These are so whoever is wearing them will know if one of the others is in danger," she explained, handing out the rings. Avalon admired hers as she slipped it onto her third finger. The band was silver and engraved with minute carvings that seemed to move in front of her eyes, making it impossible to make out what they were. The moment she slid it onto her finger they seemed to glow like embers, then like molten silver until the light died out, leaving stationary etchings. She blinked, trying to decide whether she had imagined the light show. **Well, they are magic** she thought to herself. She looked at the stones set in the silver. There were three, the middle one being an opal that shimmered in the dim light. It was square instead of round, which she thought slightly strange. On either side of it were two triangular midnight blue stones which she suspected to be lapis lazuli. Susan and Lei's were almost identical to hers, but the engravings seemed a bit different and Lei's band was larger. Avalon was surprised that the ring seemed to fit her finger perfectly; she could barely feel its weight on her finger.  
  
"These are absolutely beautiful! Did you make them?" she asked of Susan, admiring her hand from a distance. The ring seemed to shimmer of its own accord. Susan shook her head and laughed.  
  
"I wish! These were made by a Harman witch a long time ago for my great Grandparents and their best friend. The Harmans are the most powerful witch family in the Nightworld, kind of like the Redferns but without the appalling stupidity," she explained for Avalon's benefit. Lei shot her a dirty look but didn't say anything. It was obvious he was used to the snide remarks. "There's actually a very interesting tale behind them." Lei cut her off before she could tell it.  
  
"As much as I'd like to hear this, I have to go," he said. Avalon smiled sweetly up at him.  
  
"Really? Why?" Her voice was much too syrupy to be real. Lei sighed impatiently, not amused.  
  
"Because unless you want a couple of holes in your throat, I need to feed," he snapped. Avalon laughed and Susan joined in.  
  
"Okay, you go. I want to hear this story." He nodded and left quickly. Susan smiled at her friend and gestured for her to follow her into the den.   
  
The room was very cozy, done in cream and muted golds like wheat and airy browns. There were a few chairs and a couch, along with a TV and stereo. There was a faint smell of lilac hanging in the air, and it gave the whole room a light atmosphere. A large sliding door let copious sunshine in and warmed the air.   
  
Susan left, coming back after a moment with two drinks. "I hope you don't mind iced tea. My mother is convinced that soda is the devil in disguise and never lets it in the house." Avalon laughed.  
  
"That's fine with me, I like iced tea." She took a cup and sipped the contents. It was refreshing, with a slight hint of raspberries and mint. She sat down on the couch at Susan's beckoning, tucking her knees to her chest and curling her bare feet under her. They had all taken their shoes off at the front entrance. Susan took a sip of her own cup and then cleared her throat.  
  
" My great grandmother was an extraordinary woman. She was a lost witch, our line, the Qwirans, were only rediscovered about a hundred years ago. Anyway, she commissioned these rings for herself and two of her friends. My great grandfather and my grandma's godmother. Of course at the time Great Grandpa Jason wasn't married to Great Grandma Morgana, nor was he even aware that she liked him. He was about as clueless as Lei. Which brings me to my ulterior motive. The ring that I gave Lei has a spin off of the Awareness spell. It's should help him realize his feelings for you, whatever they are. It helped G.G. Jason certainly." Avalon looked at her, smiling happily at the other girl's deviousness.   
  
"Cool. G.G. Jason?" she asked, a little confused. Susan nodded her head.   
  
"Yeah, stands for great grand-whatever. It's easier to say." Avalon nodded her understanding and the other girl continued her story.   
  
"I guess I'll start at the beginning. It's a fairly tragic story. G.G. Morgana and Jason lived in Massachusetts, right before the Civil War. They both had pretty prominent families and were good friends when they were little, along with Morgana's friend Diamonde. Diamonde was a witch by the way; she was the Harman who made the rings. When Jason turned thirteen though, he was sent to school back in England. Why I'm not sure. I think his father wanted him to get abroad and see things other than their hometown. Morgana and Diamonde were still the best of friends though.   
  
" When Morgana turned sixteen her father started to allow her to attend balls. He probably wanted to show her off for suitors. G.G Morgana was beautiful. My mother says I actually look a little like her but I also have quite a bit of my father in me. She had blonde hair like mine and green cat's eyes. Anyway, the real story starts when she went to a ball held by the Trables. They were the most prominent family in their town and that was where she met Adam. Grandma says that G.G Morgana used to talk about him all the time. He was very handsome, I've seen pictures. And he must have had a bit of Harman blood in him because G.G Morgana often talked about his beautiful violet eyes. She said you could see his soul through them."   
  
She paused for a moment and took another drink. Avalon shivered. She had a pretty good idea where this was going and it was scaring her. Unaware of her friend's troubled thoughts, Susan continued.  
  
" Adam was the son of Mr. Trable. I'm sure Morgana's father would have been very happy with that match. Unfortunately, tragedy struck. A vampire came after Morgana for some reason, no one was ever sure why. Adam tried to protect her but the vampire killed him. Morgana went a little crazy after that, at least that was everyone thought because she kept on raving about vampires and black eyes devouring her. Everyone thought that a murderer killed Adam, or perhaps even Morgana herself. They tried some poor miller and hung him for the crime later on.  
  
"Diamonde was the only one who believed Morgana because she of course knew that vampires were real. Morgana's father died soon after that from a heart attack supposedly and Diamonde and her family took Morgana in and told her about the Night World. They knew that the vampire who was after her wasn't done yet and that their friend was in danger. They tried their best to protect her but she was determined to go after the person who had killed Adam. Reluctantly, they had to let her go and Diamonde went with her.  
  
"They traveled everywhere, France, the Caribbean, Russia, anywhere that the vampire might be found. They killed many vampires but none of them knew who had killed Adam. In England they came across Jason, who immediately rejoined them and helped them out. They actually became fairly famous slayers. Morgana was fast falling in love with her childhood friend and that calmed her a bit. But he was completely oblivious to her. Finally Diamonde made the rings so they would always know if one of them was in danger and where. That would help them with their mission. And she put the extra spell on Jason's ring. She refused to use a love spell because those never worked the way people wanted them to. This was much more subtle. And it worked. About a year and a half later my grandmother Lilia was born and they settled down here because no one would bother them and they thought they would be safe from anyone trying to get revenge. G.G Morgana wasn't too keen on giving up on her mission but she did it for the sake of their new baby. She hoped that her daughter would never have to see the violence she had. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. When my grandmother was ten, the vampire that killed Adam came after Morgana again. This time he killed her and Jason as well. Grandma Lilia went to live with Diamonde.   
  
"That's why we live here. We haven't really done anything wrong like most of the other Night Worlders here but we stayed for protection, even if it was false in our case. No one ever knew who the vampire was that went after Morgana, or even why he did it. It's still a mystery."   
  
Susan finished there, smiling sadly. Avalon sat staring into space for a moment, thoughts racing within her mind. Finally she spoke.  
  
"You said that you had seen pictures of Adam," she said slowly. Susan nodded.  
  
"Do you want to see them? I have pictures of G.G Morgana and Jason, Diamonde too." Avalon nodded, twining her fingers together to stop them from trembling. Susan got up and returned a second later with a leather-bound photo album. She sat back down and opened it up, passing through the pictures until she came to a page near the back.   
  
"There," she said, pointing. There were two pictures there, both grainy with old age and blurry and black and white from lack of technology. The first was one of three young people, two women and one male who looked to be about twenty or so.   
  
They were actually smiling for the camera, which Avalon thought was a bit strange considering the time frame. Then again, both of the women wore trousers and men's shirts, which couldn't have been the normal fare back then either. One had dark hair, pulled up into a utilitarian bun at the nape of her neck and an oval face. Pretty but nothing compared to the beauty next to her. The other girl had her platinum blonde hair in braids wrapped around her head like a crown, shining brightly in the sun. Her features were fine and regular within the heart shaped face. Not to mention the fact that they were utterly and completely familiar to Avalon. She had seen them in her dreams often enough.   
  
Avalon stifled a little gasp of recognition and turned to the other picture dreading what she would see. It was a newspaper clipping about the unfortunate murder of Adam Trable. The picture was yellowed and crinkled with age but the picture was still in pretty good shape.   
  
A solemn boy around her age stared out at her, eyes light gray in the black and white picture. Avalon knew from experience that they would have been a clear luminescent purple in real life, like looking at the sun through a thin piece of amethyst. And the hair would have been chestnut brown with red highlights and the lips would have been turned upward in a happy smile.   
  
Avalon turned away, biting her lip in an effort to not cry. Susan seemed to sense that something was wrong.   
  
"What is it?" she asked, worried. Avalon shook her head and stood up.  
  
"I have to go. Thank you for the charms and the story," she said. Susan stood up as well.  
  
"No problem. Come talk to me any time you want," she said, confused but trying to hide it. Avalon thanked her once more and stepped through the door, needing time to think.   
  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
My warm and loving thanks to all these splendid people for sending in their comments!  
  
Starwisher: eek! You want to know? Uh, hope this helps then...thank you so much for your enthusiasm! It is much appreciated!  
  
Diomede*: I love plot twists too. It almost always takes me until I'm about halfway done with the story before I actually have any idea where I'm going with it. I'm about at that point now. Thanks for your reviews! Although semi-sporadic, the are always insightful and I love them!  
  
Hazel Harman: Oh, please don't be mad at me! Why?! I'm glad that you like it though, enough to put it on your favorites. Thank you! And please! Don't be mad!  
  
LisaB: Hi! Sorry about the whole excitement thing, or lack thereof. I'm not all to good at writing adventure, although there is plenty of it in here, especially near the end! Don't worry, hang in there and it should get better in about two or three chapters.  
  
Kitty: Hi chica! Well, I took your advice and read your story The Diamond Heart. It's awesome! I sent plenty of reviews. If anyone out there is reading this, go read her story! Thanks for all your lovely compliments.  
  
Night Goddess: Is this fast enough for you? the same day no less! I don't think this will be finished for a while yet so you'll just have to be content with another chapter. Sorry! And thanks for your review!  
  
M.Shee: Thanks so much for all your lovely commentary! As I said before, You are so sweet! And thanks for telling me where you read this. I don't really care that you haven't commented before, once is enough to me!  
  
I'd appreciate any comments my readers might have. As you can see, I try and answer questions and give personal thanks to all who write to me. So please do me a favor, (and get yourself a nice thank you letter in the process) and write what you think in the pretty little box down below! Thanks!  
  
Kae  



	10. Chapter 9- The New One

-Title: Violet Eyes  
-Author: Kaelyn Marble_kittyn@hotmail.com  
-Rating: 15 for the most part  
-Spoilers: Uh, general NW, I guess, nothing specific  
-Disclaimers: The Night World and everything in it belong to L.J.  
Smith, not to me (although that would be cool if it was) All  
characters you don't recognize such as Lei and Avalon belong to me so  
if ya want to use them, ask!  
  
-Summary: Avalon and Lei have been friends for a long time. Avalon  
has always known that Lei had a secret, but when she walked in on his  
brother feeding from a human, her whole view of the world changed.  
Will she still be able to be friends with Lei now that she knows  
about the Night World? That question depends on whether she is able  
to survive first...  
  
  
AN: Well, I've changed my mind with this story, and with Fanfiction.net in general. I'm going to start posting again; chapters will probably be up fairly quickly as I've already got this story and several other written and I want to get on to the most recent one. But please! I love to here what people think about this story, as it was my first and will always be my baby. I love knowing what you think, and I thank all reviewers profusely *grins* (In other words I'm trying to subtly bribe you) So please review and let me know how you like it! And now on to the long delayed chapter 9!  
  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 9: The New One  
  
There was a new kid at school. The whispers floating down the halls confirmed it. There was a new kid at school and he was cute and a senior and his name was Jace.   
  
"I don't see what the big deal is," Lei grumbled as Avalon opened her locker between passing periods. Avalon laughed.  
  
"Do I sense some jealousy for all the attention that the new guy is getting?" she teased. Lei scowled then changed the look to a rueful smile.  
  
"Maybe. But I think I deserve it. He's ruining things for the rest of us guys. How'm I supposed to get a date for the spring dance when every girl in the school is swooning over him?" he complained. Avalon grabbed her creative writing notebook and shut the locker with a bang. You could always ask me you dolt! She thought, glancing down at the ring he wore. When was the spell supposed to start working? It had been more than a week since they had gotten them and Avalon had found out that she was dreaming about Susan's great grandmother. After much thought on the latter revelation, she decided that it was too confusing. She didn't want to think about it anymore.  
  
"You're just mad because he's stolen all of your lovesick cronies, admit it. And besides, I'm sure there will still be someone you can go with. He can only take one lucky girl." Lei glared at her.  
  
"Gee, thanks. Why didn't I realize that before," he said sarcastically, pushing open the door to their class. They were late, as per usual. Lei was almost never on time and with this class, neither was Avalon. Fortunately the teacher usually forgave them because the reason they were always late was because they were in the recording room. Since they were being creative, she was lenient. Besides, they actually did work while they were there, which was saying more than some.   
  
Lei stopped short just inside the door, causing Avalon to bump into him. Wondering what had made him halt, she stood on her tiptoes to see over his shoulder...and grinned.  
  
The new boy, Jace, was standing nonchalantly in front of the teacher's desk. It was obvious that he was in this class; it was open to any year student.   
  
Avalon giggled softly in his ear as he ignored the looks that the other students were giving him. She pushed him gently.  
  
"Keep going dork, I want a clear view!" she said, just to piss him off. It obviously worked because he paused just a moment longer to show her he wasn't following her orders then walked stiff backed to an empty seat. Shaking her head she followed him, going back to the corner where they, Susan, and all the other Night Worlders claimed as their own. The teacher, Mrs. Alsereft, looked past the new student and remarked dryly,  
  
"How nice of you two to show up." Avalon smiled beatifically at her  
but Lei just continued to glare at the boy up front, oblivious. Mrs.  
Alsereft sighed and stood up, addressing the class.   
  
"This is Jace Ashcraft. Please welcome him with open arms and not bazookas." The class laughed at their teacher's slightly skewed sense of humor. "You may sit where you like."   
  
Avalon studied Jace carefully. This was the first time she had actually seen him but she had a strange sense of seeing him before. He had short, bleached blond hair and a slightly arrogant curl to his lip, as if he knew the joke but was unwilling to share the punch line because he knew everyone else was too stupid to get it. His eyes were a dark color that she first thought was gray but as he neared she realized were a kind of ambiguous black-brown-blue that mixed strangely like paint. They looked like the kind of eyes that changed color with his mood. And he was one of the most handsome boys she had ever seen. She was rather hard pressed to say whether she thought Lei or this new boy were cuter. She could certainly see why all the girls were gossiping.  
  
Because of the Aware charm woven into her necklace, she was able to notice slight things that marked him as a Night worlder. He had that predatory walk and a grace that belied gravity. Besides, he was too handsome, too beautiful to be human.   
  
Avalon was shaken out of her reverie by a voice that was soft and just slightly clipped but full of humor.  
  
"Do you mind if I sit here?" She stared up at Jace, who was looking at her with something between amusement and interest. The entire room was silent as the girls waited with baited breath.   
  
"Yes," came a sullen angry voice from behind her. She could have kicked Lei at that moment. She rolled her eyes instead.  
  
"Of course I don't mind," she said. He nodded and sat down in front of her. The class burst back into action, everyone talking and whispering, a few sending surreptitious glances their way. Avalon felt something jar her desk and she turned around. Lei was shooting her a murderous look.  
  
"What?" she asked, secretly pleased. If he was jealous then maybe that meant he was finally noticing her. He shook his head in disgust.  
  
"Of course I don't mind," he mimicked nastily. "You of all people  
Avvie." He shook his head, clearly showing his disappointment. Susan bopped him on the head from where she was sitting beside him.   
  
"Oh stop it Lei, you can't exactly blame her," she said, coming to her friend's defense.  
  
"Whatever," he growled, taking out his notebook and opening it. He began to scribble in it furiously, ignoring everyone. Unseen by the group, Jace smiled slightly and began to write.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
"Sorry if I got you in trouble with your boyfriend," said a voice right behind her. She jumped a bit and spun, stifling a shriek. Jace stood grinning behind her. She growled in annoyance. She hated it when people snuck up on her.   
  
"Jeez, do not do that again!" she yelled, heart pounding. Weren't some of these charms supposed to stop people from sneaking up on her?   
  
Jace held his hands up in a peaceful gesture and took a step back. "Whoa, sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he said, giving her a nervous smile. She sighed then smiled back. He seemed utterly harmless.   
  
"It's okay I guess, just don't do it again please. And what were you talking about?" she asked, as she continued to walk home. Lei was currently Not Talking to her so she had to walk home alone. Jace fell into pace beside her, answering her question.  
  
"In last period, creative writing. Your boyfriend seemed pretty mad that I sat beside you. So I thought I'd say sorry if I got you in trouble or anything." Avalon chuckled.  
  
"Lei? Oh, he's just my boy friend in the completely literal sense. We aren't going out or anything. It was sweet of you to apologize though," she said, dimpling at him. She didn't know why she was flirting with him. She loved Lei. But this boy certainly was interesting. He smiled back at her, his eyes flashing dark blue. Yes, she thought vaguely, very interesting.   
  
"No problem. So do you have a boyfriend?" he asked casually. Too casually.  
  
"No," she answered.   
  
"Well, do you have a date for the dance that's coming up?" he said, looking at her shyly. She grinned.  
  
"Why? Are you asking me?" she asked him back, coyly. He shrugged.   
  
"Maybe. That depends on your answer. If it's no then I never asked and if it's yes then of course I'm asking you." He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at her hopefully. He really was like a little teddy bear. So cute and so unlike what she had expected.   
  
She pretended to think for a moment, putting one finger to her bottom lip in concentration.   
  
"Well, I don't know. I barely met you. You could be some psycho killer or something," she finally said, baiting him. He smiled at her and stopped to face her.  
  
"Well," he suggested, " You could always put a spell on me to find out." She looked at him sharply. His gaze fell to her necklace and then back to her face.   
  
"I like your necklace," he said casually. Her hand flew up to it, felt the small black flower that hung on it and almost yelled with relief. She had forgotten about it.  
  
"Thank you. I'm sorry, I was a lost witch, just recently discovered my powers. It still kind of freaks me out when people mention it in passing like that." He nodded to show he understood and they continued walking. "You're a vampire right?" she asked quietly, wondering if she was correct. He held himself like Lei did so she had just assumed.   
  
He nodded though, confirming her guess. "Yeah, lamia. So, are you going to answer my question?" She smiled sweetly at him.  
  
"What, the one you asked but didn't ask?"  
  
"Yeah, that one," he said slightly impatient.   
  
"Yes." He turned to grin at her, eyes snapping with something like excitement. He hugged her tightly. That took her by surprise but she allowed him to. He let go quickly.   
  
" Really? Cool! I have to go now, but I'll see you tomorrow okay?" she nodded again, caught up in his excitement. He turned to go, waving over his shoulder as he went. She walked the rest of the way to her house in a kind of happy cloud. When she got there she saw a note from her mother stating she would be going out with some friends after work and to not expect her home until late. Sighing with satisfaction, she grabbed a bagel and headed into the living room to veg on some Friday afternoon TV before making plans for the night.  
  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
So? How'd you like it? Please let me know by reviewing! Cookies to all who do!  
  
Sunshine and fine times!  
Kae  
  
Email: Marble_kittyn@hotmail.com  
  
Website: www.kaelyn.devili.sh  
  
Quote:  
Ray: It's the house by the house!  
Kae: Wow. Ten points for description skills.  
(A conversation between a friend and me) 


	11. Chapter 10: The Consequences of Margarit...

-Title: Violet Eyes  
-Author: Kaelyn kaelyn@quik.com  
-Rating: 15 for the most part  
-Spoilers: Uh, general NW, I guess, nothing specific  
-Disclaimers: The Night World and everything in it belong to L.J.  
Smith, not to me (although that would be cool if it was) All  
characters you don't recognize such as Lei and Avalon belong to me so  
if ya want to use them, ask!  
  
-Summary: Avalon and Lei have been friends for a long time. Avalon  
has always known that Lei had a secret, but when she walked in on his  
brother feeding from a human, her whole view of the world changed.  
Will she still be able to be friends with Lei now that she knows  
about the Night World? That question depends on whether she is able  
to survive first...  
  
-Author's Notes: Hello all, and welcome to the next installment of Violet eyes! And hey! Updated! I plan to keep updating, because I think that ff.net seems to have finally settled down enough that it's worth it. So please review! Love ya all! And now for the chapter.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
  
Chapter 10:  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hey, whatcha wearing?" came a low, silky voice over the phone.  
Avalon giggled softly, put down the book she had been reading, and  
propped herself up on one elbow on her bed.   
  
"Well, I'm wearing a pair of pink silk pajama bottoms that feel   
wonderful against my legs, and a black sports bra because I'm hot  
and I   
don't want to turn the heater down," she answered in a sultry voice.   
"What're you wearing?" The voice laughed.  
  
"Well, I'm wearing a black shirt, a pair of cargo pants, and a big  
frown because I'm sorry I got mad at you," Lei answered. Avalon  
plopped back down on her bed, pillowing her head on her arm.   
  
"As well you should be," she said matter of factly. He sighed  
audibly over the phone.   
  
"I know, I'm a bloody idiot but what can I say, I was..." she cut  
him off.  
  
"Jealous? Egotistical? Pig-headed?" she asked sweetly. He laughed  
again.  
  
"Sure, all three. But I'm sorry and I'd love nothing better than to  
make it up to you." She thought it over for a moment.   
  
"Come on over. And bring some movies with you. Maybe I'll give you  
the chance to make it up."   
  
"Yes ma'am!" he said crisply. She could almost see him saluting the  
phone. Laughing, she hung up and got off her bed. She had been  
planning on a night alone but this was better. She ran into the  
bathroom and quickly brushed through her hair and studied her face in  
the mirror. She decided she didn't need any makeup; he liked her  
better without it anyways.   
  
Avalon went back into her room to change, but upon glancing in the  
full-length mirror, changed her mind. They wouldn't be going anywhere  
and she knew she was being stupid. He wouldn't care what she looked  
like, he never did. That was one thing she loved about him. Of  
course, a nasty voice in her mind quipped, if he had a sister he  
wouldn't care what she looked like either.   
  
Avalon resolutely ignored the voice and went downstairs to wait.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Lei paused for a moment, hand hovering over the doorbell, before  
just pushing the door open. He had never rung the bell before; he  
didn't know why he had thought he should this time. He called out her  
name and heard her answering call coming from the kitchen. Dropping  
the movies in the living room, he sauntered in to see what she was up  
to. She was standing up on the counter, searching the upper cabinets.   
  
Lei couldn't help but notice that she was still only wearing a  
sports bra, which showed off her body nicely. He had been noticing  
more and more lately just how beautiful she was, and upon seeing her  
now, he was surprised to find that he was blushing just a bit.   
  
She turned around and smiled sweetly at him. She was holding a  
bottle in each hand.  
  
"Hey Lei!" she piped, obviously hyper. "Help me down," she demanded,  
holding out her arms in an imperious gesture. Obediently he went over  
to her and put his own arms around her bare waist, supporting her as  
she jumped down. To his consternation he found he was blushing even  
more now and tried to hide it by taking the bottles from her and  
studying them.   
  
"I thought we could make margaritas," she explained, taking the  
bottles back and setting them down where she already had the blender  
out.  
  
"What about your mom?" he asked, a bit surprised. She shook her head  
as she took out an ice tray.  
  
"She'll be gone all night. She went out with friends." She dumped  
half of the ice cubes into the blender and put some of the margarita  
mix in. She looked over her shoulder at him slyly. "You can't say no.  
You still have to make up for what you did and I want to see if  
vampires can get drunk. I have a sneaking suspicion that you've been  
faking all these times."   
  
Lei winced a bit. She was right, it took a lot more for his species  
to get drunk and out of all the times they had had margarita fests,  
he had only actually been drunk once. She nodded her head decisively.  
"I thought so. Well not this time buddy." Lei shrugged, a little  
anxious, but didn't say no.   
  
Avalon quickly made up the first batch and handed him a cup, full to  
the brim. "Drink, I'm not starting until you've finished three of  
those."   
  
"Avvie," he started, but she cut him off.   
  
"If you want my forgiveness then you'll drink that. Come on, it's  
fun. Trust me." *Talk about peer pressure* he thought wryly. With a  
small sigh, he brought the cup to his lips and downed the contents.  
Avalon smiled hugely and clapped her hands before pouring him another.  
  
"And now the fun begins!" she said happily.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Lei woke up to the feel of sunshine warming his back and a soft body  
warming his stomach. For a moment he was bewildered, wondering where  
he was. Which was strange because he never woke up muddled like most  
humans did. He looked around, recognizing the room he was in as  
Avalon's, and he had a pretty good idea who was next to him. He  
looked down and moaned softly. Avalon was curled up next to him, head  
resting on his shoulder and her arm draped lazily over his stomach.   
  
He sighed heavily, wishing that this could just go away. Both of  
them were still mostly clothed at least, although his shirt had  
disappeared, so nothing of that sort had happened. But he had a  
sinking feeling that something else had. Carefully, he eased her off  
of him and propped himself up beside her on one elbow. With the other  
hand he carefully moved the thick inky curls of her hair away from  
her cheek and neck, biting his lip hard as he spotted two little red  
wounds marring the pale marble of her neck.  
  
He brought his fingers up to his own neck, searching. Finally he  
found what he had been looking for, just above his collarbone; a  
small cut that still stung slightly as he brushed his thumb over it.  
He rubbed at it, cleaning off the blood that had dried around it and  
moaned again. Beside him, Avalon stirred and opened her eyes.   
  
She looked at him, looked at the cut he was still fingering, and  
then brought her own hand up to the bite on her neck. Silently she  
stood up and went to the mirror beside her closet to study her  
reflection. Lei sat up on her bed and watched her, guilt gnawing at  
his stomach as he waited for her to explode. Finally she turned  
around to look at him, face expressionless. They must have exchanged  
quite a bit of blood because he could see changes in her. She was  
just a tiny bit more graceful, moving fluidly. Her skin was paler,  
almost translucent against the thick mass of coal black hair that  
curled in little elflocks around a face that had sharpened slightly,  
taking on an ethereal glow. Her eyes, normally a dark green flecked  
with gold, seemed a bit lighter, more silvery.   
  
"Well," she said at last, breaking the silence, " At least I don't  
have a hang over."  
  
  
*~*~*~*  
Please, comments are adored and worshipped, as are their senders. So please tell me what you think!  
  
Kae  
Email: Marble_kittyn@hotmail.com  
Webpage: www.kaelyn.devili.sh 


	12. Chapter 11: Dance Like You Mean It!

-**Title:** Violet Eyes  
-**Author:** Kaelyn Marble_kittyn@hotmail.com  
-**Rating:** 15 for the most part  
-**Spoilers:** Uh, general NW, I guess, nothing specific  
-**Disclaimers**: The Night World and everything in it belong to L.J. Smith, not to me (although that would be cool if it was) All characters you don't recognize such as Lei and Avalon belong to me so if ya want to use them, ask!

-**Summary: **Avalon and Lei have been friends for a long time. Avalon has always known that Lei had a secret, but when she walked in on his brother feeding from a human, her whole view of the world changed. Will she still be able to be friends with Lei now that she knows about the Night World? That question depends on whether she is able to survive first...

-**Author's Notes:** Yay for pathetically long periods between updates! Whoo hoo! Erm...yeah. Really sorry, 'specially since I had said I would be updating this. Once again, I won't promise, but I will try. Please forgive me! Responses to comments are after the chapter! And please, reviews are always and blessedly welcome! 

**Chapter 11:**

  
Lei felt relief flood through him, although the little island of guilt was still lodged firmly in his stomach. At least she wasn't mad at him. She came back over and sat down next to him, laying her head on his shoulder. He put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "Am I a vampire now?" she asked, snuggling into his embrace. Her question surprised him and he pulled her closer.

"No. Not yet. Probably close but not yet. One time almost never does it," he replied. She nodded, shifting so she could lay with her back against his chest. 

"What about before though? This wasn't the first time," she said, voice lacking the fear he would have expected. He shook his head. 

"Nuh uh, that was too long ago for it to count. The effects fade after a week or so and that was almost two weeks ago." 

"Oh." Lei held her protectively to him and rested his cheek against the top of her head, feeling the silkiness of her hair against it. She smiled up at him, craning her neck to look him in the eye. Suddenly feeling a bit playful, he dropped a quick kiss on her forehead, then one on her cheek. She closed her eyes and smiled even more, then suddenly spoke. "You kissed me you know, last night." Lei blinked, startled. He had? Searching back through his memories of last night, which were few and far between thanks to consuming enough alcohol to make a human drop dead from poisoning. Vaguely he remembered desperately wanting to kiss her but couldn't remember actually doing it. 

"Did I?" he asked, suddenly uncomfortable. "I'm sorry." 

She sighed in frustration, blowing the air up so it ruffled her bangs and gave her the look of a cute little pony. "Are you really?" she asked, voice annoyed. He paused for a moment. Didn't she want him to be sorry? 

"Not really," he found himself saying before he had really thought. She smiled again at him and nodded in satisfaction, putting her head back down into a more comfortable position. 

"Good," she said firmly. Again Lei found himself speaking before he knew what he was saying. 

"Do you want to go to the dance with me?" He cringed a bit, aware that he had probably just set himself up. Now she would laugh at him and ask him if he was kidding. Or even worse she would take him seriously and give him that pitying look that he had seen her give hundreds of other boys and say in that soft voice... 

"Yes." 

Wait, that was wrong, normally she would say 'I'm sorry but I just don't feel that way about you'. 

Avalon waved a hand in front of his face. "Lei did you hear me? I said yes." He looked at her, pure astonishment glowing on his face. He broke into a huge grin and hugged her tightly. 

"Really? Cool!" he said. His words seemed to trigger a memory in her and suddenly her eyes widened. She clapped her hands to her mouth. "Oh, no!" she cried in dismay. He looked at her, uncomprehending. 

"What's wrong?" he asked, worried. She shook her head sadly. 

"Promise not to get mad at me?" she asked meekly, not looking him in the eye. Lei felt as if his stomach was sinking. 

"Why?" he asked. She sat up and turned to face him, looking rather sheepish. 

"Yesterday while I was walking home Jace asked me if I wanted to go with him and I said yes." 

Lei's stomach stopped sinking. It downright disappeared. He stared at her with something like shock and betrayal on his face. She winced back a bit. 

"You what?" he shouted, shock quickly changing to anger. 

"I'm sorry!" she cried, tears springing to her eyes. "I didn't think you would ask me and he was so sweet and..." she trailed off, realizing she was only making him angrier. "Please, I'll call him and tell him I had a change of plans. I want to go with you," she said, pleading now. 

Lei shook his head and got up, anger and humiliation burning sullenly like a lump of coal in his chest while his throat burned for a very different reason. Trying to hold back tears always did that to him. He threw a glance around the room, searching for his shirt, which he found on the floor at the end of the bed. He pulled it on quickly. 

"Please, I'll call him now," she said again. He turned to her, glaring. 

"Don't bother, I wouldn't dream of taking you away from the love of your life." Avalon gaped at him in shock at the cruelty in his voice. Her face twisted in righteous outrage. 

"Don't you dare act like this Lei! I have been waiting forever for you for you to like me. Just because someone happened to beat you to the punch line doesn't mean that you can be a total jerk about it!" she yelled, pushing him slightly, holding back angry tears. Lei's eyes blazed with an unholy light and for just a second, fear outran her ire. She stepped back but he was stepping with her, closing the distance quickly. He grabbed her shoulders roughly but before she could cry out or twist away he did the last thing she had expected him to. 

He kissed her. 

Not the soft, spider webs and snow flurries way she had always imagined he would, but a hard, angry kiss that made her jaw ache with its intensity. It shook her to the bones and she had the faint idea that someone had shoved a live wire up her spine. And she could tell that he was affected just as much as she, could feel it in the slight tremors that ran through his body as she clung to him, could see it in the brilliant bursts of colored feelings that were creating the fourth of July in the back of her mind where he was still connected to her. It scared her but at the same time she never wanted it to stop. 

Avalon brought her arms up around his neck in an effort to soften the kiss but he pulled away abruptly, tearing from her grasp and leaving her with a mind numb with shock. 

"Lei..." she began softly but he only shook his head, jaw still tight with pent up anger and eyes dilated with emotions. He turned and stalked out of the room, slamming the door loudly behind him. Once outside the house he started running, needing to take his mind off what had happened. 

Too bad he couldn't outrun his heart. 

*~*~*~*

Music blared loudly through four large speakers placed throughout the gym. Streamers and corny looking cutouts of flowers and rainbows littered the walls of the room and a refreshment table with two chaperones stood near the back, completely ignored by the dancing students. 

Jace led Avalon out to edge of the floor whhere they could dance without worrying about stepping on others toes. "You look really pretty tonight," he shouted over the noise, looking her up and down. She was wearing a pure white dress with a boat neck collar and three-quarter length sleeves. The bodice of the dress was made of a clingy material that showed off her slender figure nicely without giving too much away. The skirt was made up of a white gauzy material that flowed out easily as she twirled and had a slightly milky translucence to it. She knew it made her look slim and graceful as a dancer. That was the effect her mother and she had been going for when they made it. 

She had let her hair flow free that night, tumbling down her back like a black ink stain over the white dress, a thin diadem of silver with a dangling crystal borrowed from Susan the only decoration. She had gone simple, to compliment the dress, and the only jewelry she wore were the charms, which she never took off. She had very little makeup on; she and Susan had decided that natural was the way to go. Avalon nodded once to her date. "Thanks," she yelled back. "You too. 

Look handsome I mean." He laughed. 

"Thank you," he said. Indeed he did look nice in a white dress shirt and black pants, the top button of his shirt casually undone. Simple but stunning. 

"Let's take a break," she suggested. He nodded and led her over to where a few chairs were, and deposited her there while he went to go get some drinks. Avalon sighed wearily. Looking around at the rest of the dancers, she spotted Susan dancing with Brier. She smiled and waved at them, then continued to look around. Finally she saw what she had been looking for. Lei was dancing close to Annetta, the school slut. It was obvious that they at least were having a good time; every second that girl pushed herself closer to him and from the look of it he didn't seem to mind one ounce. 

Avalon looked away, feeling her heart thump dully in her chest. She had thought she would be having the time of her life, instead she was miserable. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned, pasting a brittle smile on her lips. Susan sat down next to her, keeping a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

"How're you doing?" she asked. Avalon shrugged, letting the false smile fall off her lips. Susan knew what had happened. She turned to look at Lei again, struggling to keep from jumping up and breaking them apart. 

"Look at them," she said in disgust. "I don't think it's possible for her to get closer to him. What does she think she is, plastic wrap?" Avalon could hear the jealous derision in her voice but didn't care. Susan laughed and nodded. 

"Perhaps. But then, she acts like she has a horrible case of static cling with any boy, not just Lei," she commented. Avalon nodded. 

"I know, that's what makes it so disgusting. He's letting her and you know all he's thinking about is the rumors about her. I mean really, three guesses as to what they'll be doing in an hour or so, and the first two don't count," she complained unhappily. Susan said nothing to that, only nodded her agreement. 

"I'm sorry sweetheart. He's only doing it because he's hurt." She sighed. 

"I know. You can go back to dancing if you like. I don't want to keep you down," she said glumly. 

"Are you sure?" Avalon nodded and Susan left. Jace came back and handed her a drink. She took it listlessly, staring at the bright red fruit punch without actually drinking it. Jace looked as if he was about to speak but she shoved the cup back at him. 

"I need to freshen up a bit. You don't mind do you?" she asked him, shooting him a dazzling smile. He smiled and nodded. She left the gym quickly, searching for silence and solitude. She felt kind of bad for Jace, she wasn't being a very good date. The music echoed through the halls of the school, but at least she wasn't around all the kids. She sighed with relief and sat down in a little niche underneath a water fountain. The cold of the tile underneath her brought a strange relief and along with it tears. Putting her head down in her arms, she let them come.

*~*~*~*

**_Special thanks to:_**

***Dulce Ambrosia:** Thank you so much sweetie! I'm glad that you've liked the story so far, in spite of the long waits between chapters! Yeah, Avvie and Lei do have a rather funny/strange relationship. And it's only going to get worse before it gets better! *giggles evily*

***Keya:** Erm...*hides shamefully* So much for planning on continuing...well, I am, just very very slowly. But I'm going to try and get the pages all set up so I don't have to do the coding. I'm really glad that you like this story so much, and that you've had the patience to stick with me since the beginning! Thank you! I'll try not to disappoint you again!

***tjones: **Thank you! Oh no, don't cry! But it makes me happy to know that you thought it beautiful! Bwa ha ha. The dance...well now you see! Drowning himself in promiscuous women...*shakes head* Silly Lei.

***AnthyRose:** *grins* I can't really answer any of your questions, as that would really give away everything but I will say this...My goodness! Are you a mind reader or something!? Thanks for the review!

***JennyDean-Harman:** Hey! The best? Well, I doubt that, but I'm not one to throw away compliments *grins* Thanks! I did email you, though it's been so long I dunno if you really even care anymore.

***clairekygal:** Thank you, thank you, thank you! Hmm...dunno if it's a good thing or not that you aren't sure where it's going, but I'll take it as that way. Oh, and did I mention thank you?

***Unknown person:** You didn't leave a name, but thank you for reviewing anyways! So much for updating soon though. *sighs*

***ArrA:** Yay for favorites lists! Thank you! *does little happy dance* As for the shield thingie...that remains to be told, but I will tell you that you may be right...or maybe not. Sorry for the slow update, please forgive me?

***Cristina**: Heya! Well, once again, I've emailed you, though I don't know if you still care or not. But thank you for reviewing! It was much appreciated! 

***Belle:** Yet again, sorry for the slow update! Thank you so much for the review though ('specially since I think you must have had to dig this up from far back in the LJS archives to even find it) Happy that you liked it, and hope you didn't really die! *grins*

Well, that's all for this time. We'll see if I actually hold to my resolve this time: I'm hoping for the best! Reviews are always welcome, and now for a bit of self promotion: I'm writing a new original story called Changelings, and I'd love it if you guys could tell me what you think! If you like this kind of stuff then you should like it...Please? I am not ashamed to beg! I'd love you so much if you would go and review it too! Okay, enough of that. Thank you again, and until next chapter, see ya!

Kae

**Email**: marble_kittyn@hotmail.com

**Website:** www.kaelyn.devili.sh

**LiveJournal:** http://www.livejournal.com/~koneko_no_kuroi/


End file.
